Zootopia: The Depths of My Heart
by Shayu Wolf
Summary: Trouble's come to town. The Fine Arts Museum has been burgled, thousands of animals are falling ill with a mysterious fever, and the sick are disappearing in the night. There are whispers of the occult, and mammals being imbued with un-natural power. It's times like these that it's good to have a partner at your back. Nick X Judy.
1. Chapter 1: Down in the Night

**And here we go. The long awaitied, well I've been awaiting it, revision of my first chapter. If your new to this fanfiction, then I do hope you enjoy. I originally told myself I wasn't going to write any Zootopia fanfiction after I saw the film back in March. That lasted two maybe three weeks. I can't help it I'm such WildeHopps trash Q.Q . Anyway I wanted to try and take the WildeHopps ship in a new direction, that explores a more alternative relationship arc. I found myself motivated to do so because I was so conflicted over whether I wanted those two to stay really close friends, it's not something we often get from Disney movies, or whether I wanted to ship them properly. In the end I had to find a way to scratch both itches, even if ultimately I had to pick a side. I hope you'll all enjoy.**

 **To those of you RE-reading the first chapter, your far to kind~**

 **Anyway, on to it.**

* * *

 _Breathe Judy, you've gotta breathe._

Bright lights. Left out to dry by her partner. This was it. That blood-chilling moment in any cop's career. The one where you freeze, the one where you're clueless. Judy had _always_ figured it would happen in uniform.

 _Damn it, Nick… why would you?_

Apprehension culminated as a tightness in her neck. Holding back tears, the bunny scrambled for her mental script. It was the only way out now.

"So, um."

Hard swallow. She cleared her throat.

"What do you call... a pig that's been arrested for reckless driving?"

Cigar smoke wafted from the front row, turning green as it passed through colored stage lights. She got a few odd stares. The rest of the crowd refrained from looking at all. At best, that boar in the second row was spacing out, at worst he was appraising his entree as projectile. A beaver somewhere in the heart of the crowd mercifully responded.

"I dunno... what?"

"A road hog!"

She let out a nervous chuckle, hoping to buzz up laughter; she got nothing. All she could hear over the backdrop of smooth jazz was the chit-chat of a few mammals tired of watching her fail. Judy took a deep breath and adjusted the collar of her pink flannel shirt.

Officer Wilde sat at a table near the back, nursing a green bottle of soda. Decked out in full blue dress, his eyes were hidden behind a pair of reflective shades. He gave her that smug smile.

 _You stupid jerk!_

There would be some butt kicking to go around after this. For weeks now, that lanky idiot had been egging her on and on to try stand up comedy. He'd pleaded _over_ and _over_ , every other day.

" _Com'on Carrots just try it, you'll_ _ **love**_ _it, you've got the wit for it."_

That wasn't the issue though. Standing on a stage was so much different than working with mammals as an officer. To Judy, knowing how to console, persuade and even interrogate another animal was intuitive. But entertaining them, making them laugh? More some strange reason, that felt like so much more... pressure.

She'd only resigned to try it now because, on top of the begging, Nick had _said_ he needed help with a sting. The bartender had _apparently_ been selling drinks to underaged mammals, but it didn't look like the fox was doing any work. He just sat there swishing around that blasted Sahara Mist.

She took a deep breath.

 _If somebody gets me off the stage right now, I will say all my prayers tonight._

"S-so," she started again, "what do you call a uh-"

Her eyes flicked around at her audience.

"A cow who's sucking it up on stage?"

The silence was cut short. Sometimes miracles did happen.

"Thank you!" a dingo in the back suddenly barked.

He started beating his hands together enthusiastically as he walked onto the stage, as if trying to clap for two, or maybe twenty, mammals.

"Everyone please give a big round of applause for Ms. Judy Hopps!"

There were a few token claps as Judy retreated into the audience, but it was mostly without ceremony. She sighed and quickly made her way to the back of the room. Nick stood, arms still behind his back, lips still pursed into that stupid toothless grin.

"You know, you should stop before your face gets stuck like that."

She stomped past him and shoved at the door.

He only chuckled.

"You're a decade too late to that one darlin'."

Judy just growled. He followed her out.

" _Easy_ , don't take the nerves out on me. I think you did just fine, for the record."

She turned, walking backwards, and thrusted a finger towards him.

"You didn't even laugh!"

The fox put a hand to his chest, jaw going slack as if to taking offense.

"Officer Hopps! Are you suggesting I should've jeopardize my investigation by drawing attention to myself?"

"'Attention!?' Really!? Says the _moron_ who wore his uniform in! Why on Earth would you... _wait..._ don't tell me."

She flicked her wrist at the bottle in his paw.

"That was free wasn't it?"

"Hm?"

He looked down at the glass bottle and held it up, as if he hadn't realized he still had it.

"Oh this! Yeah it was actually."

She growled louder, and balled her fists.

" _Hey now_ , if the citizens of Zootopia want to provide a little compensation and refresh the city's finest after a day of hard work who am I to complain?"

The smug smile returned.

Scoffing, she turned back around and picked up her pace.

" _Great_ , aren't you just the spitting image of integrity!"

She looked briefly into a pizzeria as they passed it by. There seemed to be a couple of goats yelling at one another inside. Not the only ones having a bad night she guessed.

Judy continued, "I don't suppose you actually learned anything? I didn't even see you watching the bartender-"

"Oh, I did. Perfect gentlemen, nothing out of place, I think we can call it case closed."

She stopped in her tracks, ears falling with her eyelids.

"You made the whole thing up didn't you?"

"Oof, caught red-pawed."

She turned and gave drained frown and a hard glare.

"I decide to help you, but you lied to my face. Why does that sound familiar?"

The smile softened and he sighed.

"Oh cheer up, Carrots. You'll thank me for it later."

With gentle paw he reached out and ruffled the fur between her ears. He then turned and continued past her.

"It'll help you do better with those press conferences."

Her heart skipped a beat, and the glands in her eyes made a push for tears. She held them back

"Look, Nick... I just don't like you being dishonest. Not with _me_. You're my partner, and I need to be able to trust y-"

Loud clanging bells. Her ears perked.

Judy spun on her heels to see one of the goats from the pizzria go sprinting down the dark sidewalk. The second goat stumbled out behind him.

"Get back here you bastard," a female voice yelled, "give it back!"

Judy blinked. Then Nick shot passed her. His bushy tail whipped in the wind. She watched him run and, for a split second she almost smiled. At least he did his job when it counted. Even if not Bogo, at least the _mammals_ of Zootopia could rely on him.

"This is officer Wilde! I've got a four eight four on East Water, Savannah Central!"

Judy snapped herself out of the trance and threw herself into motion. She wasn't about to let him get into trouble by himself. Fast as she was, it didn't take her long to catch up, but Nick was gaining on the goat.

That was about when the perp stumbled. Just barely catching himself on the wall of an alley. She expected him to take off down the alley. Instead the goat turned and frantically reached for his waistband.

Nick was seconds away from the tackle. She felt the pump in her chest lurch. Judy recognized the motion.

Her tongue felt like wet paper, she couldn't spit the words.

 _No!_

She barely managed to scream.

There was a flash and an ear splitting _Bang_. Blood curdling, she nearly tripped. _Bang!_ The metal barrel breathed fire; the fox recoiled. She stumbled against the brick wall. _Bang!_ Nick Wilde skidded to the pavement.

Adrenaline scorched her body.

She lunged then ducked to the side. The goat raised the gun and fired. A shot whizzed. She kicked her legs into the ground and slammed her shoulder into the perp's gut. Two bodies hit the ground.

A gasp for air. Gun clattering against asphalt.

Something inside screamed.

 _Check on Nick!_

She held it together.

There were no cuffs to restrain the goat. She had to act fast. Throwing herself from the perp and into the street, she grabbed the firearm and raised it to her target.

The goat's head whipped around frantically. Then he swore and started scrambling. Once to his feet, the goat scooped something off the ground. He went dashing down the alley.

Judy aimed the handgun at the goat's back. She shook, finger grazed the trigger. She seethed, tears dripping. And like that the perp tripped, caught, and pulled himself around the corner. Immediately, she dropped the weapon and sprinted over to the lump of red fur.

"Nick!"

She slid onto her knees.

Her partner laid there motionless on his belly. The urge to panic, to scream, to go running for help clawed at her neck. She placed her paws on the fox, shaking, eyes leaking. What was she supposed to do? her best friend was full of holes and d-

 _No! don't think about it, remember training! There's no exit wounds..._

Roll him over and check the damage, that was the next step. Her chest twisted with apprehension. The blood was slowly pooling on the ground, she didn't want to see the wounds. There wasn't a choice.

She bit her tongue and gently wedged her arm beneath the fox. He was breathing. For the love of anything good, he was breathing!

He groaned weakly as she hoisted him. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed harder. His torso raised up and then finally flipped. The shoulder hit the cement with a thump. An ear splitting yelp.

The sound nearly caused her heart stop. She suddenly became aware of all the blood covering her arms. There was plenty more of it; the fox's whole body smelled like iron. His eyes were glassy, seeming to float vaguely towards her in their sockets. There were precious few minutes left, he needed help, _now_. She grabbed the radio clipped to her partner's chest.

"This is Officer Hopps! We have a ten double O!" She couldn't keep the sobbing out of her voice, "Gunshot wound, East Water Street! We need medical attention now!"

She heard what sounded like Clawhowser shouting through the other end, but the radio got tossed to the side. She had to stop the bleeding, now. Frantically, Judy ripped off her shirt.

The perp had grazed the Nick's waist but the real damage was to his right shoulder, _the one she'd let slam against the pavement._ The bullet wound oozed far too much blood, it soaked into his blue uniform and had turned a large blotch of it purple.

The adrenaline gassed bunny lifted the fox's shoulder and frantically began wrapping it with her pink shirt. He groaned and bared his teeth, Judy forced herself to ignore it. She took her paws and pressed them _hard_ into the bandaged shoulder. That got her a fresh scream, _full_ of vigor.

A dirty cocktail of ugly guilt and relief coursed through her veins. That teetering wail meant he had energy, and that meant staving off shock. She pressed harder. The fox's left paw grabbed weakly for her wrist. He was _begging_ her to stop, but stopping was killing. She had to stem the tide.

"Oh my god..."

Judy whipped her head around to see the second goat from before looking on in horror. Judy immediately took command and pointed to the goat.

"You! Run back to the parlor, and get towels! Tell the owner to bring something to prop his feet up."

The goat just stood there frozen for a moment.

" **Go!** "

The goat jerked and sprang into motion. She dashed back down the street.

* * *

For seven agonizing minutes Judy tortured her best friend to keep him alive. She piled towel after towel onto his maimed shoulder, and kept pressing. The restaurant owner, a rhinoceros, slid a stack of seat cushions under Nick's heels. Judy re-situated herself so Nick's head rested in her lap. By the time the ambulance, and her co-workers in blue, had arrived, Nick's condition had started it's decline. He'd grown quiet; there was only the sound of his shallow breathing, and the rapid pulse Judy could feel in his neck.

The paramedics took the fox and loaded him onto a stretcher.

The bunny's memories became a blur after that. With his care out of her hands she finally came crashing down from the tower of adrenaline. The gravity of it all set in and she dissolved in a weeping pile of fur. Someone offered her a towel, she tried to get the paramedics to let her ride with them. Chief Bogo pulled her away. He insisted the EMTs needed room to work.


	2. Chapter 2: Sleight of Hand

**Boom baby, Chapter 2 has been revised, if this is your first time through, I hope you enjoy. If you're the anal type who likes to re-read for all the little edits, well frankly I love you, and I appreciate the sentiment. Revised Chapter 3 & 4 coming very soon.**

* * *

She dripped with the red scent of iron until the pizzria owner gave her an extra towel. Some of the blood came off. Some of it didn't.

Judy vaguely remembered scooping her phone off the ground, Bogo giving her a ride. He didn't ask too many questions, just the important ones, the perps description, what led up to the event. There was a soft side to the big mass of muscle, it was just hard to come by usually.

Officer Fangmeyer had given her his black jacket to cover up with before she'd been whisked away. She wore it like a big leather bathrobe, now. It still smelled a little like body fluid, which was hard to ignore now that she'd scrubbed herself clean in the hospital showers. Before she'd been nose blind, now the dried blood smelled like fresh ooze.

She reclined in a giant chair, backrest against the wall of the large waiting room, thinking. The leather swaddled her while she ground her right foot against her left. She would have been tapping it against the floor if she could have reached.

What were the chances? What happened if they weren't good?

A few tears dripped silently.

How could she live with that?

She felt a cold, empty, place in her chest. Oh, she'd heard the 'hollow inside' cliche thrown around in poetry and TV drama, but it was only now that she realized it's accuracy. This was what it felt like to teeter on the edge of losing everything. How did life just come unraveled like that? There had to have been signs she could've better read into… Something she could have done better.

The lump in her throat swelled.

All she wanted was for things to go back to normal. She didn't care if the chief put them both on parking duty for the rest of their miserable lives. Hell she didn't care if Bogo _fired_ the two them; crushed as she would be, it didn't measure up to this. They could make the city a better place off the books somehow, sell pawpsicles on the side to make a living. It didn't matter. So long as she had her partner...

A sizable portion of the force filled the waiting room, some in uniform, some dressed down. Johnson was practically in his Pajama's. Delgato's placed his massive tiger paw on her shoulder; it practically engulfed her, but she didn't mind. Everybody knew how close the bunny was with the fox. They'd treat her the same way they'd treat Francine if something had happened to Tigris.

It wasn't to say that _everyone_ at the first precinct _loved_ Nick, but they all shared a certain sense of comradery. If someone was hurt, you looked after them. That was especially the case now, what with the recent disappearances in hospitals all over Zootopia.

These disappearances seemed linked to a strange fever drifting through Tundra Town and Savannah Central right now. Among a number of other erie symptoms, sleep walking was often reported. This led, naturally, to some suggestion that _perhaps_ sleepwalking mammals were the culprit. Such comforts were dashed when a brown bear with two shattered knees had managed to escape from the 21st floor of a nearby hospital. They hadn't found anything but a red smear on the tile the next morning, and no mammals had been reocvered since.

The officers that filled this room weren't about to take a chance on one of their own.

It all stank like Mayor Lionheart's cover up six months ago, but what was the point of it all, now? News of the Vanisher fever was public. On top of that, many of the mammals who fell ill recovered quickly and fully, even if others fell into a comma. Recovery meant that a cure was plausible, so why try to hide the sick away?

 _What if_ _ **they**_ _aren't just hiding them?_

It made her skin crawl. It also had her quickly losing interest in her current case: the burglary of the Fine Arts Museum. It was a classic who done it, and how… but seeing to it didn't really feel like helping the city anymore.

The bunny squeezed her phone.

The chief had been talking about promoting her to full time detective. She'd asked about Nick's prospects, just the other day.

" _Naturally you will be required a partner for field work..."_

She looked down at the phone screen, trembling.

 _Well now what?..._

She was going back and forth on calling her mom. She needed to vent and she needed someone to soothe her... But then it was way past lights out in Bunny Burrow. That and they'd surely freak if she told them about the firearm.

Shootings weren't common in Zootopia. Assault, theft, kidnapping, and extortion? Maybe. But not shootings. The city council had worked hard at keeping guns locked up. The only mammals who put paws on them were the ZPD SWAT, and only right before a job. Judy didn't carry one, and neither did any of the other beat cops or detectives.

A petty thug having a gun meant trouble. At best, there was an out-of-towner trying to make a quick buck, which meant more guns would show up. At worst someone new was making a big push in the criminal underground.

Judy's thumb hovered over the home button. She didn't care anymore, she needed to pour out her feelings and sulk. She pressed the button and was surprised to find that her background had changed; there was also a new text message. When she unlocked the phonr the apps were different.

It wasn't her phone. Her thoughts shifted back to the goat who had scooped something up off the pavement when he'd run away. He'd grabbed the wrong phone! It struck her as eerie that they had the same model. Then it occurred to her how much evidence she probably held in her hands. She clicked on the 'messages' icon. The app opened up and she read the latest:

 _'You're in way over your tiny head, pissant. There won't be anything left, once my boy takes care of you.'_

Her heart skipped a beat. Anger came next. For a second she considered sending a seething text message back, but a cooler head always prevailed. She scrolled up and found more messages. They dated back to September 22nd and seemed to repeatedly curse the holder of the phone for stealing it from the owner.

 _So it's directed at the our, perp?_

She felt a measure of relief, but this also raised questions. Who-

Tigris walked back into the room, Judy's eyes darted up toward him.

"Hey guys. I talked to the nurse… there's… there's some bad news."

The tiger sulked and Judy felt her heart hit free fall. The tears welled up. It was all gone! Then she saw the muscle around the tiger's eye twitch. That only happened when he was pulling some kind of practical joke.

"The Coffee machine's broken," Tigris grinned, "Silver lining, they said _something_ about Wilde pulling through surgery, if anybody wants to check him out. They've got him propped up in 0917. Said he's good for visiting for another 15..."

Judy was on the floor and down the hall in just a bra and her pants.

* * *

Judy peaked around the door. The first thing she saw jabbed at her heartstrings, but it couldn't quash the overwhelming feeling of relief.

The fox was bent over the side of the bed rails, a red deer nurse holding up a trashcan. The plastic rustled as he poured his guts out. The nurse reached for a monitor.

"Patient in nine-seventeen needs more Zofuran!"

"Sending someone up now, Ulga!"

"Yes yes there we go," the deer said in a thick accent "be careful not to tear stitches."

Drip bags hung on racks and lined their way into the fox, accompanied by several wires. A part Judy felt awful, but it was drown out by staggering joy. He was broken, and sick as a dog, but he was moving, breathing. Most importantly, he wasn't bleeding.

Nick glanced up but didn't seem too surprised. He'd probably noticed her the second she'd walked in. Speaking came between shallow breaths.

"Hey, Carrots."

He lurched again, but this time it was dry.

Judy couldn't help but fold her ears back.

After a few more obviously painful gags, the nurse helped him settle back down. He sucked in air and grunted as his shoulder touched the mattress, but deep breaths soon turned to normal breaths.

The nurse grabbed a stool and placed it next to the bed. Judy was ontop of it in a matter of seconds. Her paws dove into that bed. She felt his stomach rise and fall as he breathed.

"Probably not the best time," he said, "to walk in. I'm sorry."

The bunny's shaky voice oozed with sympathy.

"A-are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel great. Brand new."

Judy had felt everything fall away before. Now here it all was again, all back in her grasp. Perhaps it wasn't so absurd to think normalcy would return.

"You know, your friend is very lucky," the deer chimed in, "is tiny fox, doctor give him thirty percent chance. Is quite impressive."

Nick gave a soft chuckle.

Judy tried a little smile, nose twitching.

"What in the world are you laughing about?"

" _Nothing._ It'll just take more than two bullets to keep me from aggravating you."

He seemed to await some witty jab back, but her vision just started to blur.

"Oh no," he chided softly, "and there's the waterworks, huh? Alright, bring it in, Carrots"

The bunny took a few more uneven breaths before she started to sob. Leaning over the edge of the hospital bed, she laid her head on the fox's stomach, and hugged his waist. The metal rail against her ribs was a _minor_ discomfort.

"There, there, I know. I do. It's okay."

"Nick, I-I thought you might've…"

"Yeah, I know… we both 'thought I might've'. It's alright..."

She felt him place his left paw against her bare back. He rubbed it through her fur in a gentle circular motion.

"You know... if you keep this up I might have to start calling you sprinkler."

She sputtered out a laugh between sobs. Nick was quick to grab her arm as she raised it.

"If you hit me in that shoulder I _will_ scream."

She smiled.

"I'm sorry,"

"It's alright… Hey, did you bring any food?"

"Uh-"

"Food!?" The deer interrupted, "you just throw everything up!"

"Yes, and as you can imagine that's left me quite famished, so if you could."

"No food until after medicine!"

The fox took a deep breath and grinned.

"That's my bad I just thought it was your job to-"

"Ulga will take care of you, but do not second guess!"

Judy ignored the bickering and leaned in further. She gave the fox's side a tight squeeze. A deep breath brought his scent through her nostrils, and though the room was crowded with antiseptics that musty stench prevailed. The fox seemed to allow her a moment take it in as he returned to scratching her back.

"So carrots. I've been wondering something."

"Hm?"

"What _do_ you call a cow who's sucking it up on stage?"

"Oh um," she thought back, "utterly out of material?"

She jerked in surprise as that got a full blown laugh. The nurse cursed in another language.

"You're going to tear stiches!"

But he settled himself down into a more controlled chuckle.

"It's not that funny, Nick."

"It would have been, after that performance."

Judy hid her smile and glared at him.

"Hey now," his tone became genuine.

"...seriously, thanks for looking out for me again, Hopps. I know that was rough... I'll find a way to make it up to you..."

"Just get better, and don't give the nurse any trouble."

"Now that's a tall order."

Nick craned his head around.

Judy turned to see a large cape buffalo stepping in through the doorway, to join the forming crowd. It seemed as though Nick's laughter had been taken as a good sign.

"So, chief," he started "now that I've been shot down in the line of duty, s'that mean I get some kind of memorial, maybe a raise?"

And there it was, the con-man was already trying to smooth talk. Probably the best sign of all.

"Of course not Wilde," the chief replied seriously, "why would I give a raise to the mammal who **abandoned his post** to go to a **comedy club**?"

"Oh… see the thing about that-"

"Relax."

The Buffalo cracked a brief smile.

"You do get paid time off, maybe a purple heart."

Nick just gave him that big wide smile as if to say 'I'll take it."

* * *

And like that, everything was almost alright. Time passed, the fox spent another week in the hospital, Judy visited him every day, and soon he was back in his apartment picking up compensation checks. The only scare came on Nick's second day in the hospital when he had a brief tangle with the Vanisher's Fever. Judy was fired up to investigate the hospitals health standards, but it passed for Nick in two days.

Things seemed to return to normal after that, almost as if they would stay that way, but the disappearances just kept on rolling. The ZBI had not yet become involved, but there were whispers around the ZPD that the kidnappings might be linked to some sort of occult activity. Officers would occasionally recover scrawlings of strange symbols on paper when a victim went missing.

Each time it was different, but each time the symbol depicted would be absurdly complex. What was stranger still, was that it would often, but not always, be in the patient's hand writing that the scrawlings were made..

Judy began to fear for Nick. Coming down with the fever seemed to be all that one needed to be at risk. This fear would soon materialize in the form of a text message Judy would receive three days after Nick's homecoming. It was on that phone, the one the goat had stolen. Judy swore she'd turned it into evidence, but then she'd been so distracted lately. She would not realize for quite some time, the immense weight that this first message would carry.

"So a little bunny's got my phone now huh? Don't worry about Bleeton, I took care of him. Got a question for you though, love. You ever delve into darker fiction? If you have, have you ever heard of something called the 'The Outer Gods'?"

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed, reviews always welcomed.**


	3. Chapter 3: Intermission

**Hello again, and happy early Sunday morning to my American readers, hope you're as ready for another chapter as I am for bed! Really loved how this came out, but polishing it into the night has been killing me. Hope you Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3: Intermission**

* * *

Nick let himself fall into the musty red couch. It was a careful fall for the sake of his shoulder, but still a fall. He was tired and his neck hurt from baring the weight of his slung arm all day. He chewed the tip of his tongue, and breathed out through his nose. The copper beast was biting again. It bit hard into his shoulder with it's single copper tooth.

" _It's not the bullet you feel Mr. Wilde,"_ the doc had said, _"it's just tissue damage, you'll heal faster if we don't try to remove it."_

That moose was full of it. Nick knew what he felt. The throbbing lump of copper felt like a thumb worming its way towards his artery. The pain left him sweating when the medication would start wearing off. He had three hours before he could take another pill.

" _Take it like a man, Nick"_ , he could hear his father say. The old Reynard hadn't known anything about pain, he'd always been too damn tough, like a rhino. Nick had gotten very little sympathy from him as a kit when it came to scrapes and bruises. Now though, the old carpenter was probably right. " _Take it like a man"_ was the phrase of the day, or rather, the month, but it was easier said than done.

Nick started to shake as the pain continued to mount. Trying as he was, ignoring it was becoming impossible. He couldn't handle this by himself. He just wanted Judy to be there to share his pain, but he couldn't subject her to that, she already worried enough. He clenched his jaw and sifted his feet through the stained carpet.

 _It has to stop, NOW_. He snatched the orange prescription bottle off the coffee table and, with some difficulty, untwisted the cap. What kind of sick joke was it to give a mammal with a busted arm a safety lid?

Defeated, he poured the tablets into his sweaty paw, separated one out, and plopped it into his mouth. Dumping the rest back in, he threw the bottle to the side and settled back into the couch.

 _Relax Nick, think of something else..._

He took another deep breath and closed his eyes.

 _Maybe I should clean up before Judy gets here._ But the empty soda cans and dirty paper plates would have to wait until the throbbing stopped. Minutes went by ever so slowly _._ As he sank further back into the old couch, he remembered his first thought when he picked the thing up with Finnick at the thrift shop.

 _This couch smells like it spent the majority of it's life beneath two fornicating wolves._

He could tell it was wolves because of a stain on the flipped side of the cushion. Oh well, one mammal's love-seat was another mammal's ten dollar couch.

The pain started to ease off, at last _;_ it was gradually replaced by a subtle sense of warmth and comfort. It felt nice, like a warm phantom hug, but he wasn't oblivious to the source of that warmth. Oxycontin was little more than a controlled dose of prescription heroine. Failing to adhere to the instructions on the bottle was playing with fire. Still, the damn tablets were supposed to last twelve hours, but the pain kept returning after eight.

He stood to his feet, wiped his watery eyes, and began to stack a few paper plates and aluminum cans. He carried these to the kitchen cubical in the corner of the room, and dropped them in the wastebasket. There was a lot more of the trash scattered about. The doorbell rang.

"And there's my nurse…" Nick smiled, adjusted his favorite tie, and walked to the door. He twisted the deadbolt and pulled upon the wooden door.

"Hey, you! Wasn't expecting you so early!"

Judy stood in the doorway holding a pizza box. He smiled.

"Yeah sorry," she chuckled, "probably placed the order for this thing too early, didn't want it to get cold."

Curious, Nick pulled the top of the pizza box open. He intentionally widened his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and made a sound of _mostly_ exaggerated disgust.

"How can you eat pineapple on your pizza?"

The rabbit's brow furrowed and her foot started to tap. She was too cute not to jab at. He let the smug smile return as he took the box out of her paws.

"I'll put this in the kitchen." He lifted it with his left paw, led the bunny inside, and then dropped it on the kitchen counter. He got a good whiff of the cheese and the pineapple. It actually smelled great, but it made his stomach flutter - side effects of the medication. He started to go and sit with the bunny, but a familiar craving hit him and he went to dig through the fridge instead.

Judy started unpacking a few items from her bag: a spiral notebook, pen, a few clipped-on black and white photos.

"You brought your notes?"

"Yeah, you told me I could next time."

The fox gestured to his right arm still in the sling.

"That was before I got to go on _vacation_."

He tried to cover up his despondent mood with dry humor, but it seemed she could tell. She sighed.

"Yeah. Sorry, you're right. I'm getting too caught up in this investigation."

"The Art Museum? I mean yeah, it's weird that nobody can find a point of entry, but-

"I'm on the Vanisher's case now, Nick."

The fox plopped a handful of blueberries into his mouth.

"Oh... Horns let you switch?"

"Bogo said he needed more mammals on the case, yeah."

She started to slip the notebook back into her bag.

"Hang on, Carrots. I didn't say I wouldn't help. Just... movie first, okay?"

"Fair enough," she said.

"Great, I figured we could watch something on Netflix, I got Clawhauser to share his account with-

"Actually, I brought something this time, Nick."

"Oh," he covered up his brief surprise with a smug smile.

"Wait, Don't tell me. It's one of those chick flicks where the girl,"

He gestured towards the bunny.

"...is in trouble and she can't get out of it by herself. Luckily, along comes a sweet handsome devil,"

He popped another blueberry into his mouth and then placed his paw on his chest.

"...and only with his help can she- or, if you prefer, only through the power of true love"

He rolled his eyes.

"...can _they_ escape their dire situation, and come out on top. Am I on the money?"

" _Actually_ ," she picked up a black video tape with a blue paper cover, "I was going to suggest Star Wars, but I did bring my whole binder of DVDs, so if you'd _rather_ , we _can_ watch Twilight-"

"Is that a VHS tape?"

"Yes sir."

"So would it happen to be, the…"

"Unedited version? Yup. Handed down from the pops."

The fox giddily jogged across room and took it out of her paws. The front cover had Luke the cheetah and old Ben the lion on the front. It was also distinctly missing the "Episode IV" marking.

"Oh yeah, this'll do!"

He sat down enthusiastically and started looking over the paper sleeve, front to back.

"Wait..."

He let his ears fold back as he groaned.

"I don't have a VCR anymore."

The bunny just smiled, and laid her head in his lap.

"Tell me you love me."

His fur stood up a little at that, but only for a moment.

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Say it first."

He sighed, feigning annoyance, and obliged her in an even tone.

"I love you, now what is it?"

"Oh come on, you can do better than that."

" _Carrots_..."

The bunny pulled a large black box out of her bag, and held it up to his vulpine nose. Nick blinked.

"You _brought_ a VCR?"

"I was worried you might not have one."

He smiled.

"Well you are a little worry wart, aren't you?"

"Yep. By the way, how's your shoulder doing?"

"Uh-huh, I was wondering when that was going to come up. But look at you, whole three minutes without asking, I'm proud of you, Carrots."

"I try to impress. Now, answer."

"It's fine. It hasn't hurt that bad since I left the hospital, but thank you for your concern, Nurse Hopps."

He grabbed a hold of the black box.

"Now are we gonna set up this dinosaur or not?"

* * *

It took roughly fifteen minutes for the two mammals to figure out how to plug the VCR into Nick's TV. It seemed as though the cables wouldn't match up, but Judy eventually thought to try using a coaxial. They both cheered and laughed when the finally got the Vizio logo to appear on Nick's little flatscreen. Left-handed high fives were exchanged.

Judy put in the tape and hopped onto the red couch, Nick got the food.

"Here," Nick handed Judy a plate with two slices of pizza and sat down next to her with his own plate. The rabbit hit the play button and Nick flipped the switch next to the couch, casting the room into darkness. The TV started to glow and the movie began.

As the previews cycled passed, Nick began picking the pineapple off of his pizza.

"You really don't like the pineapple?"

"It's just not going to agree with my stomach, don't worry about it."

"Shoot, promise I won't get it next time. Is it the medication?"

"Yeah, and I said don't worry about it, you get the pizza you want, Carrots."

He clawed at the little jiblet of fruit left on the pizza.

"...Also clever pun."

"What pun? I didn't make…"

He watched her nose wiggle and her ears droop as she figured out what she'd said.

"Oh god, I'm an idiot."

"I do believe that comment has mortally wounded me," he placed a paw against his shoulder.

"...well, almost, anyway."

"Ha, ha, very fun-"

"Shh, it's starting!"

He perked up immediately as the yellow text scrolled out of sight. The camera panned down to the horizon of the dusty tan baige, just before the thin rebel ship whizzed past. The TV flashed as lasers shot across the screen. It didn't take the two of them long to get engrossed in their movie time. Nick even managed to stay quiet until, a good ways into the movie, when Ben Kenobi uttered the oh so foolish words.

" _And these blast points, too accurate for sand people."_

Nick looked over at Judy, and then back at the screen.

" _Only imperial stormtroopers are so precise."_

He started to crack up, and Judy just gave him a funny look. This led into a conversation about the terrible aim of storm-troopers, and soon they were into a big old nerdy debate about the legitimacy of the prequels. Oh the commonalities they never would have shared had it not been for that fateful day in that elephant ice cream parlor.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed folks! There will be more to see next time, and we will most certainly dive into the big juicy heart of the plot, then. Unfortunately the other half of this chapter just kept growing out of control, so I had to lop it off and give it it's own spot next week. There's a lot more I need to do with that half before then. Good news is I've already put work into chapter _five_ , so hopefully I won't have to cut the next huge chapter in half. I can just finish it up.**

 **Ciao, and remember to leave a review if you've got the time; helps me learn!**


	4. Chapter 4: Sticky

**So the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to realize that this story is probably going to turn Rated-M, before it's over. What with all of the Lovecrafty stuff that may or may not happen, I'm not gonna spoil nothin' .**

 **...but it's gonna probably be M worthy. I want to know what you guys think though. Would you keep reading if this was rated M? I had considered posting the rated M chapters separately, but I feel like the T-only viewers would be getting an incomplete story, and looking over 's ToS that seems like it might be bending the rules a little. Anyway, enough bellyachin', that change is a ways off, here's what you came for.**

 **Chapter 4: Birds of a Feather**

* * *

The Death Star was about to blast itself into a million tiny pieces, but Judy Hopps had somehow managed to fall asleep sitting up. Slouched forward, her huge ears hung down her back as she half snored. Nick thought about pulling out his phone and snapping a picture, but he knew the flash would probably wake her up. Instead, he took the opportunity to cannily lay out across the couch and stretch his legs. He propped his head up with his left arm, and continued chewing on an ice cube. It helped him stave off the mild nausea.

 _Stupid meds._

Naturally, having Judy next to him made him feel a little better, but in a different way. It didn't make the nausea go away so much as it made him feel... well, "safe" was probably the word he was looking for, but just thinking it made him feel like a big gush.

Three months ago that spunky little rabbit had bounced up to him, fox repellent on her hip, and had promised to throw him in jail if he didn't step to her tune. Somehow, though, she'd ended up being the first mammal to really believe in him. It was a powerful thing, to have someone reach down, part the clouds, and tell you you're worth more than the pelt on your back. Now she had him _wanting_ to be her lacky. He'd been played hard for sure, but he didn't really care.

As a teen, Nick had thought that one day, he'd run across a nice looking vixen, they'd lock eyes, and at first sight, it would be love. They'd get married and plow, in some order, and things would go from there. As he'd grown up, however, he'd learned that life felt no obligation to deal such out gracious cards; love would be weird.

Now he was choked up on a little bunny rabbit. _At first sight_ , she had been a pest and, even now, he felt no desire to... copulate with her. It didn't feel right. It was like… he respected her too much, if that made any sense. He preferred to make scathing quips at her expense, rather than plow, because he respected her?

 _Very normal, Wilde._

But there was no doubt in how he felt. That was the way it was, and he most certainly _did_ love the bunny. So when she finally started to fall over, he didn't hesitate to catch her with his bad arm. It felt like taking a sharp elephant tusk to the shoulder, but it was worth not rousing her from her sleep.

He wanted to tell her how he felt, but the tricky part was not _how_ to tell her, it was when. The nature of their buddy-buddy relationship placed him as the nonchalant one, he couldn't just lay his feelings on the line out of the blue.

Was he emotionally supportive? Yes he was. He'd learned the value of that kind of relief as a child. Mother had been the only place to get it, and she'd been around so rarely. Still, it just wasn't in him to _initiate_ the touchy feely stuff. So when could he drop something that heavy on Judy? In what circumstance would things already be so real that he could slip 'I love you' in as an afterthought?

 _Well I was shot recently, that's probably a missed opportunity._

The right time would come along, eventually, he reassured himself.

Sometimes he wondered how _she_ might feel about _him_. Maybe if she knew about his feelings, she wouldn't be so comfortable with all of this bodily contact. Nick's ears flattened. Perhaps a scarier thought, what if she _did_ love him too, but in the more traditional sense. How would he handle that? Bunnies had a reputation for being absolutely ravenous when they were horny. He realized, at that moment, that the two of them were laying together on the wolf-fornication couch. It made his fur stand on end.

To distract himself he snatched up Judy's notebook, licked his finger and flipped through the pages. There was some stuff about the art museum, a lot of boring nonsense about smaller case work. It was boring but it settled his nerves

 _Jeez, she does take way too many notes._

There were also some sketches and doodles along the way. Nick found himself looking at those more than anything: flowers sketched in pencil, drawings of random mammals, they were all pretty good. There was even a drawing of himself. That drew another smile out of the fox.

That smile did not last. He realized he'd gotten into the Vanisher case when photos of missing mammals started to appear. A few faces he knew popped up: Wells, Dubias, Vensetti, guys from the old neighborhood. Judy had scribbled notes beside all of the photos. Things like "Disguised signs of forceful entry" often accompanied by "No evidence of struggle." The cases pertaining to mammals still in the hospital were eerier still. "Gazelle nurse leaving the hospital reports a light in 1217's window." "Patients report moving shadows in hallway between 4:34 and 4:39am".

It made Nick's heart beat just a little faster.

Then there was Duke Weselton. The weasel had been holed up in his place before he'd dropped off the map. Fangmire and Delgato were the ones who cracked Duke's apartment open when a neighbor thought to mention they hadn't seen him in days. The place had been an absolute mess. In addition to sick supplies, there were piles of crumpled paper with a strange symbol scribbled on them. Judy had attached a picture of the symbol on the same page.

Nick stared at it for a good long while. The eerie black scrabbles were defined in erratic angular lines branching in all different directions. It was vaguely symmetrical… just not in a way that he'd really ever seen before. Nick couldn't decipher what it meant, or who would have conceived such a thing… but it just felt like it was drawn... _wrong._ It had to be a pivotal point for the case.

 _If I could draw it right… maybe then it would make some sense..._

The fox pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. It was only then that he realized how absurd of a thought he'd just had. How would he know what it was supposed to look like if he'd never seen the original thing? That was a pretty big skip in logic.

The bunny started to stir.

 _Oh great, way to ruin the moment, Wilde._

It seemed that blocking the flash with his arm wasn't good enough, but then Judy just stretched her springy legs and settled back down with a faint smile. Nick gave her a moment, and then flipped to the next page.

He recognized this weasel too: Jack Sturgis. Everyone just called him Sticky Jack. He was harmless compared to Duke, but he was known for how many times he'd been stabbed. It was usually by his own knife, the clumsy mustela. Jack liked to flash that thing like he was going to cut your ear off, but he was way too much of a softie to actually do anything.

There was a picture of Jack's apartment attached. The bile in Nick's stomach suddenly shot up; he shoved the notebook away.

Judy sat up groggily.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Him." he gestured towards the notebook. "What the hell happened? He looks like a plant, growing out of..."

"Oh," Judy yawned, "you mean Sturgis _."_

She pushed herself back onto her haunches.

"I dunno. The CSIs are still tearing the place up to try and figure it out."

"Does... _killing_ fit the MO of the Vanishers?"

He tried to search for a better word. What he saw in that photo was not just 'killing', there had to be a more proper word for _that,_ but he didn't know it.

The bunny laid back against his tense stomach, it made him feel a little bit better, even if a little sheepish. He considered making a jab at her for it, but decided not to interrupt her train of thought.

"Well, _that_ doesn't fit the MO of anyone, but we did find a journal in his desk. He mentions the Vanishers several times, and when he does he usually loops back to how they're 'watching him'."

"So Jack keeps a diary? He didn't seem the type."

Nick shifted onto his back, shoving the bunny just a little.

"Well no," she grabbed the notebook, "See the entries-"

Nick quickly put a paw over his face.

"I don't need to _see_ right now, please just tell me."

"... _The entries_ began recently and mostly have to do with something he calls 'the object behind the veil'. He writes poems about it, he talks about it in his notes, and then it all just stops two days before, um… _that_."

Nick removed his hand from his face. The thought of the dense weasel trying to rhyme almost made him chuckle.

"Poetry? Jeez, his egg must have been _fried_ … Maybe the fever finally knocked him out in the last two days, huh?"

"Maybe... but my gut tells me this isn't the kind of thing you'd do to someone who's asleep."

 _That's not the kind of thing you'd do to anyone._

Nick tried to force the sight of it out of his head. He could be a grizzled cop and read over the case file when his stomach wasn't doing loop-the-loops.

"So," Nick said, "I take it you _didn't_ get anything from Jacky boy's sonnets?"

"Not really. It just says stuff like…" Judy flipped a few pages, "they bid themselves to a lesser God so that they can cower in his shadow. The object will come, it presses into the folds even now."

"Creepy," Nick said, _half_ -sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm with you on the fever probably messing with his head. He was probably loopy from the fever and had been watching news coverage of the Vanisher case. He doesn't give any names, addresses, or detailed descriptions of them, or at least besides the ones available to the public. _Still_ he might've roused their attention with all of this, and he _did_ have the fever, so there's motive..."

"So all of that," Nick placed his paw on the notebook without looking, "and we've got nothing solid? _"_

"I wouldn't say _nothing_ , we found some fur in Jack's room that didn't belong to him. We're working on that lead right now, it's being lab tested."

"Well Jack did like to sleep around, so I don't know how much fruit that's going to bare."

Nick grunted, sat up and placed his feet on the floor.

"Better than nothing though, I guess. Now would you please put that notebook away? My goal is to _not_ the throw up on my partner on the day she finally comes to visit me."

"Really, I'm sorry I couldn't come over the last-"

"Ahh ahh ahh shh shshsh, just close the notebook, and we're good."

"Actually," her ears folded back, "I was wondering if you could give me a statement Nick."

"Come again?"

"You were in St. Hobbins at the same time as the other two mammals that went missing."

He sighed.

"Carrots, I already told you, nothing happened in my part of the ward."

"Nick, you're a police officer. You're sure you can't wrack your brain for just a little information?"

He grumbled, and shifted his weight onto the armrest at his side. He had to think for a moment, but he knew she wasn't going to leave him alone about the whole hospital visit until he told her _something._

"Actually, there was _one_ thing."

The bunny's ears perked up, and she got out her pen.

"Great!"

"Do you remember that otter I told you about, the one with the screws loose, next floor up? Would scream randomly throughout the day? Well he was going non-stop one night…"

The bunny started scribbling down notes like her job depended on it. He smirked.

"A nurse came in, aaand she told me that I needed to get out of bed right then and there. So I did, just wearing the hospital gown. She escorted me to a room down the hall, locked the door… and what I saw in there, I..."

He pretended to act pained.

The bunny's eyes were glued on him.

"She stripped naked, Judy."

"Nick!"

He smiled, and enjoyed as she glared back at him. Clearly the bunny wasn't in the mood for his teasing, but she just made it so easy. She seemed to grow more sour by the second.

"Alright, alright, look," he sobered up his tone, "the otter was screaming and my nurse came in about 45 minutes late with my medication that night."

Judy returned to scribbling on her notepad.

"She seemed really tense, didn't even bother to turn on the lights, just gave me a glass of water and the usual fist full of pills. I mean, I could see her fine, I've got the eyes for it, but I just thought it was weird. I think that was the night before I got sick, actually. If you wanted to go after the hospital for not following the health code, she'd probably be your target. I'd guess she'd been working with a really sick patient, and hadn't bothered to clean herself up…"

"Anything else?"

"That's really all I've got, Hopps, cross my heart and hope to die."

She sighed.

"Well, every little bit counts. Thank you, Mr. Wilde, for your statement."

"Any time, officer fluff, you know where..."

He frowned as she scooted to the edge of the couch and began to gather her things.

"...to find me. Hey, you sure you don't want to watch another?"

"Nah, some of us have work tomorrow, Slick. Better to get some rest, right?"

She hit his chest with her fist and hopped to the floor.

He rubbed the spot absent-mindedly, and watched her head towards the door. The fox, took a deep breath, sat up straight, and gave it his best smooth-talker voice. It was probably a hopeless effort but...

"Well, you know you're always welcome to stay here for the night, Carrots"

She was halfway to the door, and surprisingly she stopped. Her ears fell slightly and she seemed to ponder for a second. She turned to face him.

"You really wouldn't mind?"

His ears settled back.

"No, of course not, how could I turn a lady away?"

"Well... how long would you let me stay?"

"Until morning?"

"I mean how many days could I stay, Nick?"

His cool faltered for a moment. He had not been expecting that.

"Uhm…"

"S-sorry, that was an awkward question, I-"

"No, I mean you can stay as long as you want, did something happen?"

"No not exactly. A-anyway, I can't tonight, I left all my stuff for work at home."

His ears flattened.

"Okay, well... I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, I'll try to stop by after work."

She was about to place her hand on the doorknob but then her phone rang. Nick craned his head around, but the bunny had placed herself between him and her phone screen.

"Who is it?" Nick asked.

"I don't know, I just recently got a new phone, remember?"

She tapped the screen and placed the device next to her ear.

"Hello?... Yes... Mr. Big?"

Nick's eyes went wide.

"Can I help you with something?"

 _What's he calling Judy for this late?_

Nick had spent a long time ducking away from Big and his entourage before Judy had come along. To say that he was still little uneasy with the fact that his partner had an in with the crime boss, was a understatement. The little snow shrew calling at this hour couldn't entail anything good.

He twisted his ears and tried to listen in.

"I have something... I think you will want to see," said the voice.

"Right now?"

"It has to do with your daytime profession…"

"Oh no! Did something happen to Fru Fru? Have you called the ZPD yet, sir?"

Nick cringed at the pang of concern in the bunny's voice. Did she really think a criminal like Big was going to call the cops?

"Well, something has certainly 'happened,' but it hasn't do with my daughter...How should I say this... Because of how this looks, if I am going to invite the police _in_ , I would prefer that the first cop here is a friend. I think it may also involve you personally."

Judy finally turned and looked at Nick. He immediately shook his head, but then she just waved a dismissive hand.

"Uhm, sir, I don't know how I'd get there first, I don't have a car of my-"

"I've already sent Manches to pick you up, if you will indulge me. I am aware that it is late, but I will be sure to compensate you."

"A-alright, but I'm not at my apartment, I'm at Nick's."

Nick slapped a palm against his face.

"I will call him and let him know."

"Do you have the address?"

"Ofcourse I do."

The hair on Nick's neck stood straight up.

"Sir… before you go... did someone vanish?"

"Vanish? _no._ I am afraid... I'm looking at him right now."

* * *

 **Remember to review. You can also fav or follow! But only if you enjoyed O.O . I'll be back next week like always, G, peace.**

 **...Seriously though, it makes my morning when I wake up and see all the favs and nice comments yous guys leave 3 , it really is what gets me going to write the next week's chapter!**

 **Aight good night for real Gangsta... and speakin of Gangstas, for you guys out there who like Finnick, he'll show up later. Everybody needs a lil' Finnick in their life right?**

 **Anyway, seriously *points to the bed* G'night.**


	5. Chapter 5: Birds of a Feather

**Good evening Ladies and Gents. Got another meaty chapter for you tonight. Just wanted to go ahead and let you know that next weeks chapter is going to be a short one most likely. I've been invited to partake in my cousins wedding and as lethargic as I am over such ceremonies I want her to be a happy day, so I'll be busy next week. Don't worry though, what little there will be next week, will pack a punch.**

 **Anyway without further Adue I give you Chapter 5: Birds of a Feather**

* * *

Convincing Judy to let him go with her to Big's had turned out to be a task. Nick had expected it to be a given; they had always worked together. But Judy was sure to remind him that he was _injured_ and that he needed to refrain from getting caught up in any case work that could put him in harm's way.

"Just because my shoulder's busted doesn't mean I can't use my head, Carrots."

"Well, what if there's trouble?"

He had chuckled, and squinted his eyes real low.

"Trouble?"

"Yeah, what if-"

"Judy! I'm sure Mr. Big wouldn't put his _favorite_ bunny rabbit in any danger, now would he?"

She'd gotten flustered at that one. At least it meant she recognized that Big could be dangerous, even if she trusted the shrew.

"Well… not on purpose."

"Come on now, Hopps… you're so close to his family, his bodyguards might as well be yours too, huh?"

She hadn't had an answer for that.

"So, if you'll be safe, won't I be... _too_?"

The argument had ended with a bitter "fine." and he'd given her a big smile.

Now, they were almost to Mr. Big's winter cottage. The bunny had barely mumbled a word, but it was difficult to tell whether she was upset, or just sleepy. Nick could live with either, so long as he kept an eye on his partner. The bunny seemed to forget sometimes that rolling solo was the fastest way to lose your skin in a cop's line of work.

As they finally pulled up to the small, but extravagantly decorated cottage, the jaguar in the front seat, Manches, slowed the car to a halt.

Nick looked over and found Judy asleep, so he gently pushed on the bunny's shoulder to wake her. She blinked, sat up, and rubbed her eyes just in time for a polar bear to open the door from the outside. He motioned for them to step out of the vehicle, and Judy was out the door before Nick could grab his thin jacket. He tried to put on his best nice guy face.

"Raymond, how's it going, buddy?"

The large bear just stared back at him and breathed out into the freezing air.

"It's Kevin."

 _Kevin_ motioned towards the cottage with his big paw.

Nick opened his mouth to retort but then decided to cut his loss and follow after Judy. The concrete path led up from the driveway up to a small courtyard on top of a hill. In the center of that courtyard, the infamous Mr. Big was seated in his favorite chair on top of a stone gargoyle. Koslov, Big's largest henchman towered beside the statue with his hands behind his back. That bear had been the _first_ mammal to almost end Nick's life. It was a big reason he no longer sold rugs.

"Judy, it's good to see you!" Big said as they approached.

The arctic shrew's attempt to be pleasent made Nick's skin crawl.

"I must say I wish it could have waited until next Sunday for dinner. I'm sure you feel the same way, seeing as how late it is."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired, sir, but it's my duty to help whenever I can."

Big looked over and motioned to Koslov, who delicately plucked the Shrews chair from the statue.

"Yes, I know. You have my deep gratitude for making it out here tonight. I assume you will want to cut to the chase?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Alright, but I warn you, what I'm going to show you is far from settling."

 _Whatever it is, it can't be any worse than Jack,_ Nick thought.

"It's okay," Judy said, "show us."

He waved to Koslov again and the polar bear carried Big back towards the brown brick house behind the courtyard. Judy followed after him with a determined kick in her step and, although not as dogged as his partner, Nick kept up right behind her.

Koslov led them around the corner of the winter cottage and into the thick of the giant pine trees that populated it's backyard. They didn't have to go far in before the bear turned and gestured to a particularly large tree trunk. Nick steeled his poor stomach and took a deep breath.

"Oh my God." he heard Judy say.

He knew he was in for something special. He looked up, and there it was: a display trying it's hardest, and thankfully failing, to compete with Jack the plant. He gulped.

There was _what looked like_ a goat nailed to a tree. The mammal had been cracked open like an egg. The two halves of the shell were still connected by a single strand that was the head, a horrified expression glued to it's face. The two halves of the eggshell were pulled apart and pinned. The yoke of the metaphor, the goat's entrails, hung down to the snow covered ground where they piled up in the pool of blood. They appeared to have frozen solid that way.

Nick breathed out a trembling breath and closed his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Judy whispered softly.

"I'll be fine, just do your thing."

Nick covered his eyes with his left paw and took a few inconspicuous steps away from Koslov. The bear had no immediate reason to wring his neck, but past animosity was hard to break. He kept his eyes shielded to try and make his pacing seem related to his disgust, rather than his anxiety.

"One of my associates who maintains my estates called me this evening," Big said, "He was frantic; he insisted I send someone to take care of a mess. Seeing as how I stayed here with my daughter only two days before, I felt I would, in part, be responsible for any 'mess'. I had Koslov bring me along, and _this_ is what I found when my servant led me to the back yard."

Nick eventually stopped and again looked up at the display.

"Do you... know this goat, sir?" Judy asked.

"I did not think so at first, but then I reviewed the case file I borrowed from the police. You should recognize him better than me. So should your partner. His name is Ralph Bleeton."

Nick looked closer at miasmic sculpture and suddenly it clicked. The nightmare he'd had last night re-surfaced in his tired mind. He could see the goat seal itself up, fall from the tree, and raise that piece of shit chromed .45 on him a again. They were on water street once more, and there was a demonic flash in the goat's eyes. _Bye-bye, Nicky._

He blinked and the awful figment was gone. White plums puffed out of his nose, leading him to realise how heavy he was breathing. Judging by Judy's expression, she'd figured it out too.

"Nick are you…"

He raised a paw to indicate he was fine. The rabbit turned back to Big.

"I'm sorry, you said you had a copy of the case file, sir?"

"Hmm, I arranged with the commissioner to have it passed onto me."

The bunny's ears perked up and poised themselves to receive every word coming out of Big's tiny mouth.

"I was not going to allow someone to step in and upset the Godmother of my newborn Grandaughter in such a way. Bleeton's behavior was unforgivable, and I had planned to sort him out before delivering him to the authorities, but then… he turned up like this."

The letters floating through Nick's mind were B and S _..._ but then it wasn't like he felt sympathy for the mammal who'd shot him. The question was if Judy would buy that story. She was the do-it-by-the-book type afterall. He took another deep breath and held his gaze firm on the tree. This was probably as close to closure as he was going to get with the whole incident. His shooter was dead. Now If only he'd died like a normal mammal, maybe Nick would have slept easier. But no, here he was, crucified in Alester Big's backyard.

A few more steps back brought something else into view. It looked as though there was something mounted just behind Bleeton's head.

"You're concerned that Bogo will blame you for this?"

"Indeed. Bleeton _is_ on my property, and I know his name from a few past business dealings, one such dealing was in the past six months. This is why I've asked you here _first_ -"

"Mr. Big, sir..."Nick started

Judy, the shrew, and Koslov all looked at him.

"...I hate to interrupt, but I think who ever did this left a note."

"Yes, Kevin mentioned that he saw something, but I have been diligent not to let anyone in my employ touch Bleeton or this tree. I am not going to waste my valuable time or money getting incriminated for this act."

"Then why didn't you cover it up?"

"What?" Said Mr. Big.

He felt Koslovs eyes on him which tested his composure.

"Just curious sir," Nick said, "if that is the case, if you really didn't want to get caught up in this, why didn't you just bury Bleeton?"

"Nick!"

"It's a reasonable question, Carrots. It would be in the best interest of anyone in Mr. Big's line of work, not to let this come to light. It's not like he's showing us this because he's a straight shot."

Koslov snorted and Nick's heart skipped a beat. The little shrew let out one of his high pitched sighs.

"Nick it's not fair to judge-" Judy started

"No, he is right my child. My record is no cleaner than his own. He may be a cop now, and I may be the owner of several legitimate businesses, but we share a common understanding of one thing: when it's the right to lie."

The shrew leaned on his arm in his chair.

"But Nicky... you know that mammals who do this kind of thing are dangerous. Maybe they slip up and hurt themselves, maybe they get caught, but they always drag everything else down around them. Covering up Bleeton would not only be stupid, it would be an exercise in bravado I am wise enough to avoid."

The shrew motioned with his hands, and went quiet for a moment. Nick swallowed the lump in his throat.

"He is bold enough to step onto my property, and leave me with such a travesty... the law is a card that I have in my hand to play, and it benefits me more than it detriments me. Judy, dear, if you would."

"I can call if you would like sir. Everything should be fine if no one you know has touched the body."

"I would appreciate that. In the meantime, if you both would join me inside, I would be glad to serve you something to eat, or maybe a cup of coffee. It is terrible to be awake at this hour when one has not planned for it."

"Thank you, sir, we would love to."

Koslov started off to the cottage with Judy right behind, but Wilde stayed put.

"Nick, are you coming?"

"In a minute."

The snow did not crunch.

"Go ahead, Carrots, I promise I'll be right there."

He breathed out and watched plumes of white mist emerge from his cold nose three times before she sighed and walked away. He couldn't believe the shrew would admit to illegally taking documents from the ZPD and Judy would do nothing. Was his partner that far wrapped around Big's finger, or was she just trying to play it smart like he'd taught her?

He pushed it out of mind and fixed his eyes on the goat's frozen corpse with a guarded sense of wonder. It made his stomach want to roll over but it nudged his mind. There was connection between Bleeton and Jack Sturgis, and he felt like he could figure it out. He just had to find the link in all of this mess.

"Are we looking at a lone nut job here," he mumbled "or is this the next phase of the vanishers?"

There just wasn't enough of a pattern yet. Morbid as it was, the best way to identify a serial killer's pattern was to let more killings happen. That was the opposite of a ZPD officer's job, however. More evidence came at an unacceptable price. There was just one free clue left, and it was was nailed to the tree behind Bleeton's head.

He tore his eyes away from the psychotic art project and took a few casual steps around the tree. There were no footprints, which meant it had to have snowed recently. That, or the perp had to have covered his tracks somehow. There was always blood. It was so cold in this part of Zootopia that the snow could go without melting for weeks. It wouldn't do any good to go kicking around now, but careful snow shoveling could reveal a bloodtrail if Bleeton had been killed before being… _mounted._ He finally turned and started back towards the cottage. Hopps had to have some thoughts of her own; they could compare ideas. They really did work best together.

As he started through the crunchy white powder, however, a peculiar feeling of dread settled over him. It felt like he was being watched. The fox glanced over his shoulder, back at the eviscerated goat and it's horror mask face. Deep down, something dreadfully instinctual told him that he was closer to the center of this than he wanted to be.

He did his best to suppress the thought, and made a quick pace to catch up with Judy.

* * *

The ZPD sent their night crew, which fortunately included Snarlof and Fangmeyer who were comfortable working in the cold. Within the next two hours, they had the site of the killing taped off, and the snow around the body carefully excavated. There were no footprints, there were no hidden bloodstains. All that could be said of Bleeton was hanging from his pinewood tombstone.

Some of the officers changing shifts between talking to Big and checking the yard, stopped to sit and talk with were friendly, a little bit more so than usual, which was more than a little bit uncomfortable. Nick hated being coddled just because he was injured. Everyone, including Judy treated him like less of a sly fox, and more like a kit with a scraped knee.

Thankfully, they weren't all bad. Some of the officers he was closer with, Fangmeyer being one, made good conversation. He got caught up on the gossip down at the station; anything involving Judy was especially fun to know. He fully planned to drop by in his free time and he needed to be armed with the right info. There was a craft to annoying another mammal in just the right way.

Nick was about to give Higgins a hard time about the rash on the back of his head when the dynamic of the crowd shifted. Snarlof had just walked in the door, and now all of the other officers were gathering around him. He carried a damp piece of paper in his paws; the bottom corners were bloody. They mumbled to one another and looked down at their bunny compatriot as she hopped up. They eventually handed it down to Judy. She didn't look surprised, but she didn't look comfortable reading it, either.

It was the clue Nick had been waiting to take a bite of, and when he made her show it to him... it froze him deeper to the core than Tundra Town's frigid air ever could. He _was_ close to the center of this, and he'd been right in the worst possible way.

Not fifteen minutes later, Judy was sitting beside him on the couch, chastising him.

"Nick, you need to go home and get some rest."

He didn't have a response.

"I know that you don't like to hear it this way, but this case isn't your job, Nick."

"Technically you're not on duty either, Carrots…"

"Nick, please…"

He looked her in the eyes and tried not to falter in his composure.

"You're sure you'll be alright?"

She placed a paw on his thigh.

"I'll be fine, you big doofus. I actually have an idea of what this might mean. Just let us wrap it up here, and I promise I'll bring my notes by your place tomorrow night."

The fox shrugged, and looked off to the side. He wouldn't let himself look like the broken mess they all expected him to be.

"Com'on Nick, it's all just paperwork from here."

Fangmeyer fell into the couch next to them.

"Yeah," the wolf said "You don't wanna stay and help us fill out I604s, do ya?"

That did pull a smirk out of him.

"Alright, alright."

Judy elbowed him in the ribs rousing a full smile.

"Ow, no need to get vulgar. Honestly you two are going to make me sick again if you start talking about forms."

"Good," Judy said, "well then your limo driver should be waiting outside, Mr. Wilde."

"I don't have to tip him, do I?"

"I'm sure our host will take care of that."

Nick gave a token chuckle and finally headed towards the door.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Carrots."

"Don't worry, Wilde," Fangmeyer said, "I'll take care of your lady friend for you."

He felt the hair on the back of his neck betray him and bristle. He heard snickering and swore he heard the wolf say " _...look at him… he always tenses up…"_ but Nick played it straight.

"Oh, you better... or I won't be the only one sucking on pain pills, big guy."

He waved goodbye, stepped out the door, and closed it without waiting for a response.

He rode home that night in the car of Renato Manchas. To his surprise, Kevin was there as well. When he asked why the Polar Bear was riding along, all he got back in the bear's thick Russian accent was,

"Lady's request."

Damn. She really _did_ have sway over Big's henchmen.

Kevin poured himself a glass Vodka, added a couple of thick ice cubes, and dressed the big "B" cup with a lime slice. Nick considered asking for some to calm his twitchy nerves, but he stopped himself. The very least he could do for his body was not swallow alcohol on top of the prescription he was already overdosing on. He road the rest of the way home in silence thinking about what was on that piece of paper. The words made his limbs feel like soft clay.

" _TExt me, little Bunny._ _"_

* * *

 **Goodnight lasses and lads, can't wait to read the new reviews in the mornin' :D you guys always make me smile. This chapter wasn't even really planned until this week, what was going to be chapter 5 originally is now chapter 7. There's still work done on it, but I felt like this needed to be done first. Also Chapter 6, damn son, there's gonna be some serious stuff goin' down, I tells ya what. Fireworks, just keep an eye out! Peace.**


	6. Chapter 6: Devrait Vraiment

**Seriously what is with this Shayu guy. Tells us he had a wedding this weekend and that the chapter was going to be super short. Then he springs this shit on us and posts the longest chapter yet! What an asshole, bet he didn't even go to that wedding.**

 **Well I did and muh feet hurt from standing and takin' them dumb ol' pictures. Pretty good ceremony I suppose, but I spent all my spare time writing this on my phone for you guys : p**

 **I hope you all don't mind taking a step away from Hopps and Wilde for a chapter. Thought I'd give you some exposition for a different character on the force, while I set up a pleasant new do-badder (opposite of a do-gooder I guess) who's going to be mucking up some important things down the line.**

 **I wanted to say thank you to Haterade and Skellism whose music inspired me to write the scene that this whole chapter sortof evolved around. Go to the Youtube and paste this after the "dot com slash" if you want to hear: watch?v=Vytntw_d62k &t=9m17s . Fanfiction hates links. Anyway...**

 **Prepare thy chest for feels, for they are coming, and they come bearing weapons of all shapes sizes and flavors.**

 **Chapter 6: Devrait Vraiment**

* * *

Delgato swerved around a orange and black striped giraffe van and regained sight of the tan sedan tearing down the desert road. Brake lights on the blue muscle car ahead flashed. The tiger snarled, and threw his police cruiser into the right lane.

"What the hell is this guy thinking!?"

Delgato whipped the cruiser back into position and stepped on the gas. Despite the commotion, Wolford somehow managed to space out. The timber wolf was usually the focused type, but he wasn't driving, so what was the harm in having a bit of a think?

Delgato threw the car into another hard left, shifting Wolford's weight against the door. They slid through an intersection, and darted down Sahara Square's Diamond Street. Delgato would knock this guy to the side of the road soon, and then Wolford would return his mind to the job where it belonged. For now, he let himself mull over his fight with Fangmeyer.

Fangmeyer was the serial screw up. He could never stay focused on his job. One minute he'd be staking out and watching for a drug deal, and the next he'd be making cat calls at a passing pig. Then, just when you thought he'd scraped the bottom of the maturity barrel, he'd get that big dopey grin on his face and his infinite well of racial humor would spill forth. "Pork chops" this and "pigging out" that. The guy was a moron, and he was Wolford's best friend too.

These days, the ZPD would let any mammal join up, but back when he'd come in as fresh meat, it'd been a whole different game. Size was everything, and even then, there was a preference for tough prey animals over predators. Being the new guy in a place like that, you talked to the mammal you had the most in common with. For Wolford, that had been one Dallas Fangmeyer, six months his senior, and the only other wolf on the force. He'd still been a womanizer back then, but he wasn't nearly as goofy; he still had a mother in the hospital at the time.

Two months later Bogo put them together. It was either because they talked too much, or maybe just because they were both wolves. Nobody else cared to work with what was traditionally viewed as such an aggressive animal. The cape buffalo had stuck them on a dead end case somewhere in Tundra Town. The complaint was over a burglarized fish stall in an open marketplace. A relatively minor crime, or so it seemed at first.

They'd picked up on a trail that linked the fish theft to several other burglaries in the area. Those burglaries then turned out to be foreplay for a sicko who decided he might as well start cutting down mammals in the streets at night. The loony siberian tiger managed to bag two, but the Wolford-Fangmeyer tag team managed to bring him down. The bastard almost weaseled away from incriminating evidence by using a pricey big shot lawyer, but they locked it down, with superb casework. Even the Fang-moron could sometimes impress.

They'd been best friends ever since, but it got shaky sometimes the way Fangmeyer would behave around women. Best friends weren't supposed to blow you off to go on last minute dates, and they especially weren't supposed to invite said dates into your apartment. That was what they weren't supposed to do, but Fangmeyer could always take something he wasn't supposed to do and kick it up to eleven. He'd showed that ability off once again the night before last, when he'd screwed his date in Wolford's own bed and then passed out before Wolford got home. It was blatantly disrespectful in more ways than Wolford cared to count.

" _Still want to go see that new Mad Max movie, Fang?"_

 _"Nah I'd rather plow this chick I met four hours ago, in your bedroom while you go see the movie by yourself."_

Still... maybe yelling him and his date out of the house hadn't been the right response. Fangmeyer had always been poor at letting confrontation roll off his back when it came from a friend. He'd sulked for three weeks after the incident at Grizzoli's wedding. And now he just sortof crept around the office with his head down when Wolford was around. Poor guy. Then again "your place was closer" wasn't the kind of excuse Wolford could let fly. Surely the idiot would get over it, and maybe his behavior would benefit too.

Delgato ripped the steering wheel to the right as the tan sedan swerved into a closed down warehouse bloc. As Delgato rounded the corner into an alleyway between two large warehouses, the tan junker lost control. The brake lights lit up, just before the vehicle collided with the warehouse on the right.

"Alright," said Delgato, "end of the line."

Delgato pulled the police cruiser to the left and parked it.

Yes the suspect had finally wrecked his ride, but Wolford didn't like the look of this place. Ambush city. The perp would try to run, and if he was going to make any kind of last stand, it would be it would be a surprise attack, jumping out from behind some old piece of machinery or a shipping crate.

"Damn it, I bet he's going to run." Delgato said, "I'm so damn sore from yesterday"

The tiger unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the vehicle. Wolford was right behind drawing his sidearm. After what had happened to Wilde, officers were now permitted, and were even encouraged, to carry firearms. The tiger drew his pistol too, but he only seemed to be following Wolford's lead. Wolford worked part time in the Precinct One SWAT team, so the weight in his hands was familiar. Delgato seemed to be just getting used to it.

The door on the other side of the perp's car opened and Wolford brought his weapon to low ready.

"Police! Step out slowly with your paws up!"

There was no response, and no paws. Wolfard moved in front of Delgato, back against the left side of the alley. The perp's car was parked with its hud against the wall on the right, so they'd need to slice the pie and come around slowly from the left.

"Come on, paws where I can see them!"

What happened next took Wolford from his thoughts and placed his neck against the knife edge. A metal door attached to the warehouse on the right swung open. Wolford went on instinct. He threw his back into Delgato and yelled something along the lines of 'stop, police!' His sick sense proved as morbidly keen as always.

By the time the barrel of the automatic rifle peaked around the corner. Wolford had already twisted on his footpaws and was dashing back for the vehicle. Too slow. Hellfire let loose, and a round smacked into the ceramic plate on his back. It sent him crashing to the ground in front of the cruiser.

"Wolford!"

The cruiser door swung out, and a hand grabbed him by the wrist. A round smacked the sand beside his foot just before Delgato tugged him to safety.

"Rechargment!" the boar holding the gun yelled.

Working with a great deal of understanding, Delgato passed Wolford his gun, and dove into the driver's seat, before going for the radio. Wolford shoved up to his feet as two more gangbangers came charging out the door. Wolford peaked one gun over the edge of the door and opened fire. The antelope who had started out in a breakneck advance skidded on his hooves and sprayed fire wildly. A few bullets struck the car but the suppressive fire kept anyone from landing hits.

The boar on the right side of the alley, opened fire again rattling the car, but Wolford was keen enough to catch the sight of another door hanging open on the left side of the alley.

He threw himself into the car on top of Delgato, set the vehicle into reverse and stomped onto the gas. The police cruiser roared backwards just in time for a nearby window to shatter. A front tire exploded and the vehicle swerved into a wall. The impact sent Wolford's skull slamming into the glass barrier that separated him from the back seat.

His head swam as he tried to crawl off the top of Delgato. Focus was paramount; he tried to maintain it, but he blacked out for what seemed like only a couple of seconds.A pair of savage hands ripped him from the vehicle. He hit the ground with a boar's knee in his back. What felt like zip ties bit into his wrist and binded them together. He was about to lul off again, but the sound of a nearby struggle kept him riveted.

"Putaine!"

There was a gunshot.

Delgato's scream electrified Wolford. He thrashed against his captor and snapped his jaws on whatever ankle he managed to get his teeth around, and bit hard. He'd thrash, break free, and get to Delgato before... The second blow to Wolford's head put him down properly.

From there he was vaguely aware of being dragged through something sticky. Eyelids open, his eyes would occasionally flicker from their rolled up position. A streak of red marked up the cement beside him. Everything seemed to be spinning and he couldn't feel what direction he was being dragged. There was a metal screech, and then a rough jerk on his legs. His chin hit something hard, a door slammed, and everything was dark.

* * *

Wolford woke up on his belly to the smell of gasoline. Feline groaning echoed right next to him. Instantly set into aggression, he tried to snap his canine jowls open but found them bound by leather with a piece of plastic pipe between his teeth.

He felt a hard ring press into the back of his battered skull and he went still. You didn't have to be high functioning to recognize a gun barrel, and you certainly didn't need to be a genius to know not to squirm against a shooter. "Look at that, look at this one."

A flashlight flicked on and blinded could see a camera in the hands of the mammal before him. He couldn't make out the species; It looked like a boar, but more wolfish. A peccary?

"Il's saigner à mort," said a third mammal.

The Peccary crouched down before Wolford and stared at him.

"Mierda… You here that, doggy? Your little boyfriend here's bleeding out. He's not very much fun anymore, so that means we're gonna have to play with you instead."

His muddled mind raced, trying to think what to do, he couldn't let Gato die. The tiger had a kid at home and... Wolford mustered a menacing growl. He wanted to spill out any number of seething curses towards the bastard, but his mouth was bound and gagged. The peccary waved to someone Wolford couldn't see.

"I'm sorry can you repeat that? I can't quite hear you."

Wolford sucked in another breath lunged his head forward and snarled.

Suddenly, with a flash, his right ear drum shattered, and red hot liquid splattered all over his face. Horror, paralyzing horror, grabbed him by the inside of his chest. The peccary grabbed Wolford's cheeks and yelled something he couldn't make out. He leaned in to scream in Wolford's ear.

"Hey! That get my fucking point across!?"

He rubbed spongy bits of meat into Wolford's fur.

"You know what this is? I bet you can't guess."

A hand motion from the peccary. The gun barrel pressed harder into the back of Wolford's skull.

"It's pieces of your friends noodle. Now make a noise if you can hear me, you're no good to me deaf."

Wolford found himself holding his breath.

"I'm going to count down from ten, amigo. Ten!"

Delgato was gone.

"Nine."

How had this happened?

"Eight."

It had just been a minor traffic infraction.

"Seven."

Twenty miles over.

"Six."

How was it all worth this? He felt nauseated.

"Five."

 _I should've never clocked him with the radar gun, I-_

"Four."

He wouldn't make a sound.

"Three."

He would just die.

"Two."

He tensed his whole body and braced himself.

"One."

Wolford failed to stifle a whimper

"There we go! Mother fucker," the Peccary laughed "I almost lost another toy!"

The peccary stood up and began to pace.

"Alright! So we're going to play a game, Officer..."

The peccary fiddled with something in his hands. He opened it up.

"Wolford! That's a real creative name… So! Here's the rules, I'm gonna ask you a simple question, and you're going to answer. It's like we're playing house, and I'm home-schooling you, but instead of spanking you with a ruler when you get the question wrong, I'm going to cut something off."

Wolford locked his lips again, no more sounds, he just sucked in air through his nose.

"Listening? Good."

The Peccary crouched in front of him.

"First question, this is an easy one. Which animal in zootopia can be attributed with highest percentage of thefts."

 _Weasel._

"Amigo, ami! Prenez le museau hors!"

Another mammal clopped up behind Wolford. The gun barrel moved, and he felt a strap on the back of his head unclip.

"I'll turn you into fucking lasagna, if you bite me big boy. And I like my red meat sauce."

Wolford just focused on keeping his breathing even.

"Answer the question, amigo! Who steals shit the most?"

"Weasel…"

"That's right. Question two: What animal in zootopia is responsible for the highest percentage of fraud?"

Wolford stayed quiet. The gunbarrel pressed harder.

"Answer, mother fucker! Easy question!"

"Fox."

"That's right! Look at the brains on this one, he's such a good boy."

The Peccary patted him on the side of his face. He wanted to clamp down on the hand with all the force his jaw could muster.

"Number three: Which mammal... in Zootopia... is responsible for the highest percentage of violent crime?"

Wolford grinded his teeth together. He wanted to snort.

"...per capita?"

"If I wanted to know that… I'd ask you. Answer the question."

The the pressure from the gunbarrel started to feel like it might crack something.

"What mammal is it!?"

"Fuck you," Wolford muttered weakly, "you fucking psychopath."

The peccary chuckled.

"Fuck me? That's your answer? Museau lui!"

The boar on top of Wolford mammal-handled his face and tugged the muzzle back on. The peccary brandished and then flipped a balisong knife.

"It sounds like someone wasn't listening at police class~. Tenez-le."

The boar shoved Wolford's head down as he started to squirm. He knew he should've answered the question, he should've- The peccary grabbed his ear and sliced. Wolford yelped beneath his muzzle and flailed with all of his remaining energy, as the mammal ripped and sawed. He grunted and seized at the sickening pain until his body finally collapsed and the cutting stopped. His right ear felt hauntingly lighter. The peccary slapped his nose with the velvety wet triangle, and then threw it to the side. He grabbed Wolford's face.

"Look at me! You going to answer the question?"

Wolford half snarled half spewed a slurred curse. He bit down on the PVC pipe and strained with all his might. The next thing he knew there was a nozzle in his mouth, and a red can throwing itself back, the the dull burning liquid piped down his throat. As his nose become involved he seized, and some of it splashed into his lungs. It was gasoline. He coughed violently and the nozzle came out after a few forced gulps.

"You gonna tell me now, fido!?"

Wolford had been holding it back with the concussion and the torture, but his stomach finally spasmed and he vomited into the hollow gag. The muzzle was loose enough to let the bile spray not only from the end of the tube, but also from the corners of his mouth and out through the gaps in the leather straps.

"Mierda!"

The peccary broke into a fit of laughter, he stood up and stepped away from Wolford's aching body.

"Yeah, take it off of him… yes, you have to touch it… fais le, putain!"

"Patron, ses amis sont là!" yelled another mammal.

"Fuck! Are you serious!? No, no leave it on him."

He crouched down before Wolford again.

"Well, time's up, my friend. What a shame… only three questions, today. Well, just for your reference, officer pred, the answer to that question is 'wolf.'"

The peccary grabbed his muzzle and squeezed it hard with his hooved hands before shoving it to the side. The mammal then stoop spun around, and raised a hand in the air.

"Let's go! Let's go! Nous're de quitter!"

Mammals scattered and footsteps echoed all around the warehouse. The boar's knee rose from ontop of his back and dashed across the room. When the peccary brandished a lighter, Wolford's heart stopped.

"Adios, amigo, until we meet again…"

The peccary tossed the little zippo and the heat erupted all around him.

* * *

Wolford expected the flames to charge forward like a backwards ram out of hell, and crawl down his throat. But they didn't. Instead the fire spread to the edges of the room. It was going to roast him slow like an oven, smoke him to death or maybe the whole thing would just crush him when it collapsed. Breathing was already difficult, he wheezed and coughed as the gas spread around in his lungs.

Death seemed to surround him on all sides, but he suddenly realized that he wasn't tied down. The weight on his back was gone. He was still muzzled, but he could move!

He slid a knee beneath himself. It was difficult to balance with the concussion and with his arms still bound, but he managed to get to his wobbly feet. He staggered left then right, and almost fell over. The heat was already mounting, and the air was so damn hard to suck in through the coughing. Beside him, the sight of Delgato's mostly missing head hit like a rhino punch to the stomach.

He looked around the room for a door. Miraculously, there it was, as of yet unmarred by glaring flames. He ran for it as fast as he could without falling over. He heard sirens blaring in the distance; they were getting closer. Life could've been just a few feet away. He got to the door and hesitated for a moment. Then he turned himself around backwards and gripped the door handle with his ziptied paws. He twisted it and pushed. _Deadbolted._

He coughed harder and knelt trying to suck some of the fresher air lower to the ground through his vomit filled muzzle. The fire was spreading too quickly in other parts of the warehouse, there wasn't time to search for another door.

He took a few steps forward and then slammed his back against the door. Nothing. He braced himself, stepped forward, and threw his shoulders back into the door again. It still didn't budge. Tears evaporated quickly as they welled up in the timber wolf's eyes. He was going to die without ever apologizing to Fangmeyer, and he was going to die without ever apologizing to Gato's little boy.

He took a step forward towards death, braving the inferno as far as he dared, singing his fur. He then turned around and charged the steel door with all of his might in one last futile push. There was a blaze of pain in his shoulder, but something snapped and the door gave way. He fell out into the alleyway on top, and rolled into the sandy alleyway he'd been in before. Sirens blared, and he laid there for what seemed about half a minute.

The cruisers were getting closer, and the building was getting hotter. Wolford forced himself to his body battered and exhausted, his mind muddled and despondent, he staggered forwards, knees trembling.

ZPD cruisers rounded the corner into the alleyway a moment later, and came to a screeching to a halt not 20 feet away. As the warehouse burned, Officers started climbing out of their vehicles and shouting. Expressions of dismay met him on all sides. Five or so went looking for Delgato. As his adrenaline started to taper off, Wolford limped up to one particular arctic wolf and collapsed for the last time.

Fangmeyer seemed to snap out of a stupor as he caught wolford, his loose hanging jaw went stiff. He staggered backwards, and tried to keep the two of them from toppling over. Wolford ultimately fell to his knees as Fangmeyer's arms wrapped beneath his shoulders.

Wolford tried to take in the scent of his friend -olfactory contact is important to a wolf- but all he could smell was smoke and gasoline. He heaved again and coughed, as his friend held him tight.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Remember to review if you gots the time, reviews are like, the best thing ever. I read them the next morning and all throughout the next day after the story gets posted and it always gets me pumped to write the next chapter! I want to know what you thought about doing a chapter for Wolford. This story is still going to focus around Judy and Nick, but I wanted to give some backstory on a few other characters too. Also Follow and Fav, but only if you thought it was good yo! o.o**

 **See yas next week.**


	7. Chapter 7: Sticky's Journal

**So, this is probably going to feel like a rip off, but I feel like it'd be even more of a rip-off if I didn't post** _ **something**_ **. I said updates** _ **every**_ **Sunday, and I'm not nearly ready to let myself break that promise, so here's the deal.**

 **Chapter 7 is in the works and it's going to be big, the size of two of my normal chapters. Probably about 5K words if I had to guess, for those who are counting. It's back to Nick and Judy, there's relationship stuff, there's plot progress, and there's a whole LOT of banter; I know some of you love the Nick and Judy banter, I love it too, so you're in for the treat.**

 **Problem is, as you've probably guessed, it's not done yet. This Fanfiction gets priority over everything I do besides school, so there's never a week where I neglect it, but because of finals I can't really buckle down and take double duty to get Chapter 7 done** _ **now.**_ **It'll be done next week, and it'll be better for the extra time it gets under polish. So in the meantime here's a little something to chew on, and, to be fair, those of you who like the Lovecraft stuff, will probably enjoy this.**

 **Chapter ?: Sticky's Journal**

* * *

 **From:** Officer, Willis Tuskan, ZPD CSI.

 **To:** Chief Officer, Eliki Bogo.

 **Date:** October 3rd 2016

 **Subject:** Transcript of Jack Sturgis's Journal Entry

As you requested sir, here is a transcript of the 3rd entry in the notebook we found under the false bottom of Jack Sturgis's desk drawer. As I've said his account doesn't give us any solid evidence to work with, but whether or not you want to send a team up there to Groovman's to dig around is obviously up to you.

The entry reads as follows:

* * *

 _I remember when I caught my observers for the first time. I was driving down a long forest road up to my new job. I finally got my break with a mining company who was willing to work with my record! Some mammals say a miner's life is hard, but they don't know jack, lifes hard with no money, that's truth._

 _Anyway I was driving out, and I had to drive under a massive storm cloud. Rain really started to pour on after I passed that creepy hospital, the one just outside of the rain forest district where Lionheart had locked the preds up in back in March. The rain kept pouring down harder, and harder. I know rainforest makes it rain, but this was nutts._

 _I wasn't going to be late for my first day of work and get fired, though, so I powered through. My old Palmero's a beast to behold and I'm an awesome wheelman. Nothing was going to stop me._

 _Well, that's what I said until I got up to Groovman's pass and the whole godamn bridge was out. I couldn't figure what the hell would've caused it to collapse, but the Groovman waterfall was roaring out of control nearbye; there must've been a flash flood or something._

 _I was about to get back in my car and turn around, but from where I was standing I thought I saw some mammals gathered around a cliff edge near the waterfall. There's this campsite just before you get to the bridge, and I was pretty much sure that this cliff edge was part of it. I like to see what's up you know? So I parked my car by the campgrounds and climbed up some old wood stairs._

 _I swear I thought they were miner's when I first looked at them. They had some gear laying around, and one of them had on a helmet. Besides, you know, most of the workers up at the mine probably come from Zootopia, so if the bridge is out for me, it's out for them too. I started approach, I was about 30 yards away, but then I realised their raincoats looked kind of funny. They were dripping, like they were bogged down and soaked. Then it occurred to me that what they were wearing might not have been waterproof._

 _That had me pause long enough to realise, that they were having some kind of scuffle. The whole rest of the hooded crowd was gathered around the guy with the helmet, and they had him by the neck. He was a cheetah I think. They strangled him and dragged him towards the the cliff edge and brandished a rectangular piece of metal._

 _Now I've seen the stupid cult types before. I got a buddy named Ron who does that shit. They'll pretend to worship Cthulu or whatever, then ten minutes later they'll strip off their thirty dollar robe and go to starbucks and have a coffee and a bagel. They have their little parties and they dance around their bonfires and shout "Ïa Ïa Cthulu fhtagn!" as if it means something._

 _But these guys, they were dead silent, and it meant something to them. I watched them hold this cheetah at the cliff edge and ram this piece of metal into his gut until red spilled out onto the slippery rock face. It was surreal how little the cheetah fought back. He didn't really flail or kick, he just hung in their grasp cupping his throat. That was about when the glow started and I swear, the Cheetah started to levitate. They released him, and he just floated up and away like a helium balloon._

 _I didn't know what the hell to do, or even what to think. I just hid behind the crest of the stairs and watched the dead cheetah rise. I should've ran then and there, but being a moron I stayed to watch the purple aura around the ascending mammal fluctuate and reflect off the rain. I didn't snap out of it until the hooded face of the mammal holding the weapon whipped towards me._

 _I sure as hell booked it after that. I've been stabbed enough times to know I didn't want any of what they had. But, like an idiot, I slipped and fell down the first flight of stairs. I caught myself luckily, but then I heard this howl. It wasn't like a timber wolf's howl, it was wholly unnatural, like nothing I'd ever heard before._

 _Scrambling to my feet I practically jumped down the rest of the stairs. I hit the bottom running and I swear I felt a paw swipe at the back of my neck just before I threw myself into the driver's seat and punched it. I never looked back, and I prayed that'd be the end._

 _I had the radio blasting, though, and in the middle of one of the talk shows the signal started to break up. When it did I heard the words "Come back," through the static. It made my damn heart skip a beat. The signal slipped back in, and I told myself that it had to be another station bleeding in, but what certainty could I have after what I saw?_

 _I called my supervisor as soon as I got home and he told me it was fine about the absence. I came in the next day but I had to take a two hour detour. I take that detour every day now. I will never go the Groovman's route again, and I tell everyone who works out that way that the place is dangerous. Dunno if they listen, and I don't tell them the story because then I_ _ **know**_ _they won't listen, I wouldn't have if it was me, but it's the truth._

 _I haven't seen those hooded goons with my own eyes since, but I know they have been around the city. I get this feeling sometimes when it's really dark outside, or if it's raining really hard, like I need to check over my shoulder, but I never catch anything more than an occasional a glimpse or a blur. Even when I do, I don't know if it's in my head or not. But still I know they're there. I don't want them to know I know, but I know._

 _They're all around, I know they are. They're slithering through the dark and they're plucking weak mammals from hospitals and from their homes. It's all over the news, I can't just tell myself I'm nutters. That'd be so much easier. Just lock me up at the funny farm in a safe room with food a drink, and watch my back. Sounds like heaven, except nowhere is safe. There'll be news on it soon. A sick suspect will vanish from police custody next…_

 _Then there was last night._

 _I used to like to take drive out to the country with my little bro, and just sit in a meadow somewhere and gaze up at the night sky. It's really corny, I know, but it was fun, and neither of us really have much to enjoy out here in life._

 _Anyway, I was stressed out, so I tried it recently, I hit up my brother and we went. We got this cool place a few miles out from Bunny Burrow. Nice little clearing on a hilltop, and I tried to lay down and watch the sky, but the stars just didn't seem so friendly anymore. Well how do I say it? They're stars, they don't have a personality. Or at least they didn't before, but now I just get this feeling that they're somehow malignant, like some old hag, who's yard I've walked too far into._

 _I stared at the sky for a long time that night, and the more I did, the more that I got this impression that it was somehow… swollen. Like it was going to bear something, like something was going to burst through._

 _My brother had fun like he always did, but I felt so much more crushed down than I had before we'd gone out. I've got a prescription for antidepressants, and I took three that night before I went to bed._

 _I hate to disappoint the little man but there's no way I'm getting caught underneath the night sky again. I'll stay indoors from now on. I will just sit on my couch and watch happy cartoons, where none of this weird shit can get in my head. That and I will resign all my research on the vanishers to sunny afternoons._

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed what I was able to give you this week. The post is much later than usual and the writing style is a bit different because it's a transcript of a journal within an email, but oh well. The good old fashioned zootopes stuff'll be coming back next week! Look out for it, and again, I apologize for it not being ready quite yet.**

 **Peace~**


	8. Chapter 8: Flock Together

**So apparently chapter 7 got corrupted. No biggy, I have a backup on google docs. Unfortunately, I probably made a few edits once the chapter was posted to fanfiction way back when. So until I get a chance to re-read through this, there may be some minor errors, maybe one or two awkward sentances. Much better than not having a readable chapter though if you ask me. I thank you for your patience, and a special thanks to user "** " **for catching this issue for me. I'm going to give the rest of the chapters a looksee real quick.**

* * *

"You can't just waltz passed the yellow tape, Nick!"

Judy glared up at her partner as they walked down Acacia Boulevard. The fox had been released from the hospital just four days ago, and now he was already nosing his way back into police work. As stubborn as he was, she knew she had to pluck that behavior at the roots.

"Sure I can," he reached into his pocket with his good arm, "I have a badge, see?"

He kept his eyes forward and avoided eye contact as he flashed her the gold plate. Mammals parted to either side for Judy as they walked past. It was the uniform. It didn't matter what part of town you were in, the blue suit and a raised voice got mammals to move. Nick just sucked on his blue Dum-Dum and kept it cool.

"You're on vacation, Nick!"

"Yeah, a vacation from paperwork, and It's great!"

"Nick…"

He took the blue sucker out of his mouth and waved it at her offhandedly.

"I was having nightmares about the mountains of forms almost every night, Carrots, it was awful. There was even a little bit with Bogo as some kind of abominable paperwork snowman."

Judy growled, but he just shrugged.

"Oh, I know, _dumb_ , right? Think I was third-wheeling it with Fangmeyer that night aaand he took us to some cheese fondue place. You know what they say about cheese and dreams. Anyway, I've slept like a pup these past several nights; it's the bee's knees, let me tell you."

When he finally made eye contact, he folded back his ears and put on that precious 'you're mad at me?' frown, as if he'd just noticed.

"What's the matter, Carrots? Something eating at you?"

Judy hopped in front of him and then stopped. She put on her best tough cop face: stiff upper lip, squinted eyes, neutral expression.

"Nicholas Wilde, you're supposed to be at home!"

He put up his good paw up, and chuckled.

"Sorry, mom, I'll go straight to my room. I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Nick!"

"What? I really don't know what the fuss is about, Carrots. I'm just trying to help out."

"We don't need your help!"

"...right now!" she was quick to add.

She saw his eyes divert to the ground for just a second, but he covered it up quickly.

"Aww…"

He leaned down to her eye level.

"...my partner doesn't miss me at work?"

She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. The fox just smiled bigger.

"Come on," he said "not even a little bit?"

"Of course I miss you, but we don't need your help! We need you to rest and get well, so you can actually be productive when you get back!"

He gave her the big 'you know you love me' grin, but she held his gaze. The fox talked smooth, but when she fought him this way, they were on more even ground. She didn't flinch, she didn't smile, she just stared back. It was perhaps the only way she ever got her scolding to stick to him. After a long, awkward pause the fox's smile finally melted. He sighed, stood up and crossed his arms.

"Alright look, grumpy-"

"I'm not grumpy!"

"Yes you are," he touched a finger to her nose "you're very grumpy, and I'm not buying the tough cop shoulders. What time did Bogo reel you in last night? He let you come in late today, right?"

"To an... extent."

" _Carrots_ ," he chided, "How much did you sleep?"

She blinked and then tried to give him more of the iron eyes, but he put on that concerned dad face she saw only once in a blue moon. It always made her feel guilty.

"Three hours."

He shook his head and sighed.

"Oh you poor bunny, no wonder you're about to chew someone's head off."

She growled again, as if it would achieve something.

"Look, you still have a break left, right? Let me take you to lunch."

She felt her shoulders droop.

"Food's just going to make me drowsy, Nick."

"Yeah, I know, and it sucks, but I promise you'll feel better if you fill your belly with a light lunch. I'll pay, if you'll drive."

She hesitated for a moment. He was probably right, but still… She crossed her arms.

"If I go eat with you, I'm going to drive you home, and you're going to stay, okay?"

He sighed.

"Fine, you have a deal. Let's go."

~x~

Nick's directions had taken them all the way to Saharah square. She stood with him on the corner of a particularly shifty looking street, looking up to read the old beat up sign above the shop window.

"Ping's Oriental Cuisine," Judy said, "We serve breakfast. That's an… interesting, combination."

"Would you believe me if I said I know a guy?"

Judy smiled.

"Considering the neighborhood we're in, yes. Yes I would."

"Judgemental, aren't we?"

The tone didn't suggest offense, just amusement. He grabbed the handle and pulled open the tinted glass door. He gestured, as if to say 'after you.'

"I'm not saying anything about Mr. Ping _himself_ , you just have a tendency to know people in-"

The fox snickered.

"What!?"

"You think his name is Ping?"

"Well, I… I just thought it was named after him."

"Unfortunately, Stevenson's Oriental Cuisine just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it, country bunny?"

She blushed and Nick escorted her into the dimly lit restaurant. A particularly small lioness stood behind an appropriately sized podium. The predator's face lit up upon seeing them. It seemed a little too excited for just two customers until Nick chimed in.

"Doris, it's been a while!"

"Oh my goodness! Red! I haven't seen you in such long time!"

The waitress ran up and hugged the fox's neck. She was small for a lion, but she was still a large animal compared to Nick. The fox braced himself just before they collided.

"Hey there!" Nick said.

He patted her back, and then tried to pull away, but the feline wasn't having any of it, she just squeezed tighter. Doris wasn't particularly young or old looking, Judy guessed they must've been about the same age. They had to have been friends in some capacity, but she could see the call for help in his eyes as the lioness practically strangled him to death.

"So, who's your friend?"

She released him and he gasped for air.

"...never thought I'd see you walk in with an officer, Red. You're not on parole are y-"

She stopped mid sentence, almost as if her filter had just clicked on. Nick took it in stride.

"Doris, this is my partner, Officeeer, ah... Carrots."

Judy started to shoot the fox a look, but the lioness was already off again.

"Nice to meet you, Carrots! I trust you're keeping Mr. Red here in line? He's a real sneaky-"

"Doris!"

He snatched ahold of her attention.

"We're partners as in _we work together…"_

She looked at him as if he was crazy. It seemed to take her a minute for it to register.

" _Oh!_ That's right! I remember Steve mentioning that once! I thought he was loony, though. I just can't imagine you being a police officer!"

"Well, I do appreciate the compliment, hon, but do you think you could get us a table for two?"

"Oh, absolutely! Right this way!"

The lioness turned and led them from the small, walled off hostess's area into the dining room that was surprisingly well decorated. There were wood carvings, paintings of various mammals in traditional eastern dress, and a hand full of flowers that Judy herself couldn't even name. There were actually a fair number of other mammals dining in as well. The place wasn't full, but then again, it was lunch on a weekday. Most working mammals didn't have time for a sit down dinner.

Doris led them to a smaller booth near the inside corner of the room and sat them down.

"Here we are! Plenty of room. Now, I'll be right back with some menus, okay?"

"Doris," said Nick "Aren't you the hostess?"

"Well, yes, but I can't let just anybody wait on my old friend! Be right back."

And she was gone before Nick could protest. As soon as Judy climbed into the booth, her head went down on the table with a _thunk_.

"Someone's starting to crash, huh?"

She mumbled.

"I'm just fine, thank you."

" _Right_ … well, you will be, once we get something in you."

She groaned.

" _Coffee!"_

"You going to drink it black?"

"Of course not."

"Then you'll have water."

"Nick..."

Doris came back with two menus slapping against the table.

"There you go! Can I start you two off with something to-"

"We'll both have water, thank you." said Nick.

Judy was about to butt in with a 'speak for yourself,' but Nick pulled one of his stunts.

"Oh, and I don't suppose you've got a spare set of silverware laying around, do you Doris? I seem to be missing mine."

He'd probably thrown them on the floor.

"Oh! That's no good. Well, I'll be right back, again!"

Judy glared at Nick as the waitress scurried away for the second time. She wanted to kick him under the table, but she couldn't reach him without slipping down onto her back.

"You know, you're precious when you get bent out of shape."

She was going to give him a scathing retort but he raised a finger.

"If you want to stay on your game today, lose the sugar."

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Since when are you-"

"A dietitian?"

He flipped over one of the menus, and started going through it. He continued almost absent mindedly.

"There was this whole health fad going on about… nine years ago? It was in the spring- anyway, mayor a couple terms before before Lionheart, Eldris. _His_ wife started it as a pet project."

He licked his finger and turned another page.

"It mostly caught on with the trendy kids... buuut my girlfriend got me into it."

The statement plopped onto the table like a big undercooked slug. Judy thought back for any occasion she'd seen him with another female, then looked back towards the door to the kitchen. The waitress had referred to him as 'Red', was that her pet name for him? Nick picked his phone up out of his lap and texted _someone._

She mentally slapped herself.

 _Why are you focused on this?_

She knew why, though, and it made her nose wiggle. The fox never looked up to see it. He just flipped through the menu.

"...hope they still have it here somewhere..."

"So… what species is she?"

And just like that, out of all the questions floating around her bunny brain, the most irrelevant and inappropriate one came slippeing out.

Needless to say, he looked up this time, but it wasn't in the shocked way she expected. He just sat the menu down and rolled his eyes up at her.

"What species was your first boyfriend, Judy?"

"Uhm..."

Nick held her with an even gaze. The sound of two loud polar bears laughing filled the silence, but they didn't make it any less awkward. She didn't really want to tell him, but she was on the spot now, and withholding wouldn't be worth it.

"I-I didn't… I never really... had one."

" _Really?_ … You spent all your time in school studying, didn't you?"

Judy just sat in front of Nick, eyes down, like a child who knew they'd broken something expensive. She shouldn't have asked that question. If there was a proper way to recover from this, she didn't know it.

"She was a fox, Judy."

 _Was._

She kicked herself harder for jumping at that detail.

Nick already had his nose back in the menu by the time she looked up. Embarrassed, she picked up hers. It wasn't much more than a binder with laminated photos of food. Most of it looked like it would pass right through her, but she didn't say anything. She pretended she was reading the menu like a normal mammal. Not someone cringing under the weight of the supremely awkward moment she had just built for herself.

It reminded her just how little she knew of her partner's history. Nick rarely brought anything up, and when he did, it was usually only to convey his empathy. He never wanted her to feel like she was alone when she was down, he always had to bridge the gap. He was a good friend. That was why it hurt for him to know so much, while she knew so little.

Judy made up her mind then and there. If he ever gave her the opportunity, she would sit and listen as long as he would talk.

"Here's your water; and your utensils!"

Jarring her from her thoughts, the lioness sat two glasses of ice water down between them, and placed a new set of silverware in front of Nick.

"You guys decided yet?"

Nick picked up immediately with his smooth talk.

"Sure have, we'll share a Salmon Sunrise."

Judy shot him a contradictory glance, but the fox just lifted his paw off the table.

"Coming right up."

The lioness took the two menus and walked off. Judy folded her ears back, and grumbled.

"Nick, I can't eat meat."

"Relax, Carrots, there's plenty of your namesake on the plate, that's why we're sharing; You eat cashews, right?"

"Yeah… I do."

He looked over her.

"You sure you're 'just fine'?"

"No… Not really..."

Judy crossed her ankles and looked down at the table.

"Nick, you said you've done this a lot before, right?… does stress from desk work really keep you up late?"

"Desk work?... Oh, you mean the abominable Bogo dreams! No, no I don't lose sleep over that. I meant I used to go without sleep a lot _before_ I landed it at the ZPD."

" _Before?_ Wait…"

She managed a smile.

"You lost sleep over a popsicle stand?"

" _Please._ do you have any idea how long it took to find that niche? Family friendly, no dealing with thugs, all technically legal? That was twenty years of work, Carrots. Sometimes I wonder if I should've kept somebody running the business on the side."

"Sooo, the whole ' _two-hundred dollars since I was twelve_ ' thing... Not so much?"

" _Well_ , maybe 'since I was twelve' was a bit of a stretch."

The fox smiled, but then he seemed to get a little distant. She wagered he was probably remembering something significant.

"It was a close figure, but it was definately a lot more work back in the day too... it really did start at twelve."

It made her curious. If he hadn't started off with the popsicles, what on earth had he been doing? She recalled him saying something about selling rugs at some point, but what else? Then, as if on queue...

"You uhm… Want to hear about it?"  
She blinked.

"Carrots?"

She straightened up.

"Yes! _wait…_ Am I going to have to cuff you after you tell me?"

He smirked.

"Not unless you read me my rights first."

"Alright... let's hear it, Slick."

"Okay, where to start…"

"Start at the beginning, I want the whole story."

"'The whole story' will take longer than lunch, country bunny."

"Well, tell me how you were _almost_ making two hundred bucks when you were twelve."

The fox paused for a moment.

"Early years huh? Those were fun," he said sarcastically, "how should I put this to you..."

Nick's eyeballs rolled up and to the right as he thought. Then his smile came on wide and he grabbed his silverware. He let the utensils unroll and fall out of the napkin, before tearing off a piece of the paper. The fox rolled up the paper, and pinched it between his middle finger and his thumb. To her dismay, Nick brought his creation up to his lips and pretended to suck on it.

"Nick, you didn't..."

He seemed to enjoy how that riled her up.

"No, I didn't."

He flicked the piece of paper across the table.

"My partner Derek did, though. Real oblivious guy, needed someone to play lookout. I helped him find customers and safe places to sell, too."

"When you were twelve!?"

"Sorry to disappoint."

He seemed to get a little melancholy.

"I was done being a good kid after elementary school, Carrots. I tried to fit in with the ranger scouts; that didn't work, so I fit myself in with other rejects. You run with who'll take you, that's how it goes... Anyway, I never touched the stuff, but Derek paid me a commission on what he sold, aand in exchange-"

"How much?"

"How much what?"

"How much did he sell?"

"Patience Hoppsy, give me room to breathe, I'll give you the details."

Judy curved her mouth to one side.

"Now, I don't want to toot my own horn, but I do know how to be in the right place at the right time. So to answer your question, I'd say about a twelve hundred bucks worth a week, maybe twelve fifty..."

Nick took the lemon slice on the side of his glass and squeezed it into his water before stirring it with a straw.

"How much did he give you."

"Oh, twenty percent or so."

"So, _seventy-five_ dollars a day?"

"More or less."

"That's pretty far from two hundred"

Nick sipped through the straw.

"Well, pops gave me twenty bucks a week for an allowance, too."

"And what did he think about the 'hustling'? He ever find out?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly hustling yet, but not for a long while."

"When he did find out?"

Nick looked at her with a straight face.

"He beat me until I limped."

Her jaw went a little slack.

"School made me talk to a councilor the next day. Almost sent an officer back around to my house, but I talked Ms. Oinks down from it."

"Nick, that's terrible."

The fox took a deep breath and pulled out his wallet. He took out his badge and slid it across the table.

"What did you think of, when you saw one of these as a kid?"

She looked at the golden shield. 'Officer, Police" it read. In the center of the plate was a gold star surrounded in blue. Around circle were the words 'Trust, Integrity, Bravery." She'd pinned that badge on him herself, only three months ago.

"I mean… I thought of law enforcement."

"But how did it make you feel?"

"Happy, I guess? I wanted to be be officer since about nine years old, Nick."

The fox nodded and sat back in his seat.

"Well where I grew up, every kid learned to hate the police the first time they saw one of those, Judy."

She felt her ears droop.

"The deal between me and Derek was good for about two years. Then _he_ moved up the ladder to where he didn't need me. He got into supplying instead of dealing the summer before eighth grade."

The fox sighed.

"Then he stuck me with his new lackey, Travis Barnes…"

The fox caught her frown.

"You okay?"

"N-nothing, just a childhood bully."

"Named Travis?"

"Yeah."

"Heh, join the club... When Derek put me with that knucklehead the whole business got flipped around. The guy always wanted to buck _my_ system, the one that made the money. Never listened to me, or did anything I said. He was too much of a hotshot. He even cut my rate down to ten percent because he 'didn't need me'. I tried to get Derek to talk to him, but he'd always just tell me 'let Travis do his thing, _man_.' Well, I bet he regrets it with how that turned out."

"I'm guessing not good?"

"Well, to the beaver's credit, he did make a little more than Derek. Pulled in about fifteen hundred a week, but everything about the way he operated was risky. I told him that, but he didn't really care. The guy was dealing dope, but he carried himself as if he was Scarface. I think it was four weeks before eighth grade was over when the police grabbed him off the street corner around Barret road - _really_ bad neighborhood back then. He was lucky it was the cops that found him… Unfortunately, it wasn't such a good twist for me, because he ratted me out. Did the same thing to Derek."

 _Well it serves you right,_ she found herself thinking. That thought didn't come without a large measure of guilt, however. She wasn't thrilled to hear the fox had offenses besides his prior tax evasion, but she knew from the outset that it probably wasn't a very realistic wish. And wishing ill will on her partner, who was more misunderstood than anything, hurt.

"So… What happened then?"

"Well, Travis got juvy for two years and Derek, having hit the lucky eighteen a couple months before-"

"In middle school?"

"Well, he was a sophomore in high school, but he'd been held back twice in eighth grade, that's how we met. Anyway, being eighteen and sitting on a couple hundred pounds of grass, they locked him up for ten years in big boy jail."

She responded quietly.

"And, what did they do to you?"

"I got off with a warning."

"Well, that's pretty lucky."

"I guess that all depends on how you look at it... I remember walking home from school and finding a cruiser parked outside the apartments. I knew it had to do with me, somehow. Probably because no-one had heard from Travis that day. When I came inside, the Officer was talking to my dad, but they both dropped the conversation as soon as I walked in. The Rhino showed me his badge, took me outside, put me against his car, and strip searched me in broad daylight."

"But that's not even legal!" she said angrily.

"Of course it wasn't, but what was I going to do, _file a complaint?_ Getting defensive was how you ended up in the back of the car."

Her eyes went down to the table, and Nick noticed. He placed his paw on top of hers.

"C'mon, cheer up, Carrots. Things are different now. We work with a lot of good cops. I don't regret taking up the mantle, I just-"

"What did he do next?"

"Well… nothing really. After he let me re-dress, he told me he better not catch me messing around with dealers again. After that... he sent me up to my dad. I remember walking in that door the second time. Ooof."

The fox winced and Judy laced her fingers together with his.

"It was not pretty. I could see it in those cold grey eyes of his before I even shut the door, I was going to be _sooore_ the next day…"

Nick pulled his hand away as their lioness waitress came around the corner holding a large steaming plate.

"There it is," the fox said with a small smile.

"Here you go guys, one Salmon Sunrise!"

She placed the aromatic, colorful dish between them. The salmon fillet sat in the center cut into small cubes ontop of a healthy helping a various veggies including her obvious favorite, the carrots. There were also cashew nuts scattered on top and even a heart shaped fried egg on the side. It was all covered in a light glaze with sesame seeds and dressed with a few orange slices.

"So, one of you guys work a long night or something?"

"How can you tell?" Judy asked.

"Well, Red used to get this whenever he'd be up late, or if he had a hangover. Like clockwork he'd come by, he'd be Mr. grumpy too!"

"I think clockwork implies a regular schedule, kitten."

"Oh."

The lioness got really still like a statue and rolled her eyes up and to the side.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, a clock works by-"

Doris's attention was snatched away by the bells at the door ringing.

"Uh, anything else I can get you guys?"

"Just a little more water, but go do your job, hun."

"Okay!"

The feline snatched up the cup and took off towards the door.

Judy watched Nick's eyes follow her. She curled her toes and let herself ask the question buzzing through her head..

"So did you ever… you know..."

Nick looked at her and raised an eyebrow, but he suddenly seemed to get it.

"Oh, date her? Yes, for a very…"

Judy heard something crash to the floor. She looked behind to see the lioness on the ground with Nick's ice spilled all over the floor and a nervous caribou standing over her checking to see if she was okay."

"... _very,_ short period of time."

Judy's stomach growled, as her nose wiggled to the smell of the colorful dish wafting up through her nostrils. It didn't completely reel her in, though.

"So," Judy asked "how many people have you dated?"

She started on the carrots.

"Three."

She looked him in the face

His eyelids got real low, this time more annoyed than amused.

"You want to know the third one don't you?"

She nodded.

He popped a smile and chuckled.

"You searching for meat, Carrots?"

Her back went straight, and she stopped with a half chewed carrot in her mouth. And then the nose started wiggling.

The fox burst out laughing.

"Oh my God, you are!"

She flushed underneath her fur, but just barely recovered with a lethal glare.

"I didn't say anything!"

He just kept chuckling, trying to get some water down.

"You can can lie with those lips but you can't-"

He started coughing and laughing at the same time.

"...with the nose."

She growled and stared him down harder.

The fox just raised up his paw in response.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

He was still laughing, but he seemed to be trying to stamp it out.

"Just tell me what happened next, you big goofball."

"Ah-ah."

He shook his head, a bit of unintentional laughter still in his voice.

"No... more sad talk at the table, I can tell it's making you gloomy."

She frowned.

 _That's why he won't talk about this, he doesn't want you to feel sorry for him._

"Nick, please, I do enjoy listening, you can continue."

He coughed again, clearing the water out of his lung.

"Look, I never messed with anything drug related after junior high. Started fresh and steered clear of it, freshman year and on."

"Well then, what did you do in high school?"

The fox sighed, and laid it on smooth.

"C'mon little bunny, Eat why don'tcha?"

He took her fork and jammed it through a large carrot slice, and held it up to her nose.

She just smiled coyly, grabbed the fork out of his paw and wagged it at him.

"Just tell me something else, _Red_. It can't be all stormclouds and dead daisies. There's gotta be something you did that was funny or happy."

Nick seemed to ponder her request as he placed another chunk of salmon between his teeth.

"Well… between nineteen and twenty-three I used to wear an earring."

The bunny giggled.

"Really!?"

"Yeah, a little gold loop in my left ear, right here."

He pinched his ear near the tip.

"I thought it was so cool back then. 'Would probably look like a doofus with it now."

She smiled wider.

"I think it would look _very_ attractive on you."

She joked of course, but the fox leaned in on his elbow.

"Really? Is that so?"

Playing off their previous miscommunication made her a little hot under the collar, but she maintained her composure.

"Sure, maybe you could replace that hawaiian shirt with a studded leather vest _too_."

His response was somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. He just grabbed the fork from between her fingers and pushed the carrot on end of it back towards her mouth.

"Eat."

Momentary silence set in as she took the fork back and finally started eating again. The dish was strange, and a little citrusy, but it was actually really good. As a farm bunny, Judy knew what fresh produce tasted like, and this was it. She had judged the book by it's cover yet again. Nick's friend, or whoever did his cooking, knew how to prepare a fresh meal.

She looked up to find the fox texting again.

"So, who are you talking to?"

"Fangmeyer." he mumbled.

That made her feel better when it shouldn't have.

"Ouch, I bet he's exhausted too, huh?"

"Trying to keep him awake at the office as we speak."

Nick's thumb clattered away at his phone screen. His right arm twitched in its sling, but he just grunted, leaned in, and sucked water through his straw. Judy had been trying her hardest not to focus on his shoulder all day. It made her worry way too much, but she just hated to see him squirm. She wanted to make sure he was doing everything he needed to heal faster. When she thought about the hole in his shoulder it almost made tears well up. _Not here._ She took a breath.

"What's wrong now, Hopps?"

"N-nothing I-"

But he held the stare.

"...s-shoulder…"

" _Ah."_

One word and he seemed to understand. He reached out and cupped the underside of her wrist with his paw. His thumb gently stroked over her forearm.

"I'll be okay, I promise."

She didn't know what to say, so she just gave him a nod. With that he released her hand and she returned quietly to eating. Nick had been right in some capacity. She felt a little more weighed down, but surprisingly she didn't feel sleepy, she actually did feel better. It would make the difference in the long run. Nick started eating too, but a couple of minutes later he was back on the phone again.

"You know," she said "if Bogo catches Fang playing on his phone instead of working…"

"That'll do an even better job of keeping him awake, sounds like a win-win."

She smiled.

"You have a strange definition of 'winning'"

He shrugged.

"So, What are you two talking about, anyway?"

"It's private.?"

Judy ears perked.

"It's his secret, cottontail, don't give me that look."

"C'mon, if you're going to keep using that thing at the table, at least let me in, I won't tell."

"I'm putting it away, I'm putting it away..."

He pecked out one more message, and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"You're no fun."

"And you're a gossip."

"I am not!"

"You know, that's exactly what a gossip would say."

"Nick, I've never shared anyone's secret in my life!"

"That's a bold claim."

She furrowed her brow.

"I am _not_ a gossip."

"Nope, but..."

He pointed at with his fork.

"...you _are_ hopelessly easy to set off."

The fox went to work on the meat that was left on the plate. He grinned at her while he chewed. Then his brows went up and he turned his head.

"Now who let this dirty copper into my shop?"

The hair on the back of Judy's neck stood up. She went into full alert and got her hand ready to grab her taser in case things turned-

"Not you, sweetheart. Yes, I'm sure you bathe every night. I'm talking about this runt."

The hippo let out a throaty chuckle and placed his large fist down on the table in front of Nick.

"I believe that would be the house cat at the front. She just about crawled down my throat when I came through the door."

The hippo laughed a little more before grabbing a chair from one of the larger tables. He sat himself at the end of their table.

"Yes, she's still here and just as perky as ever. I envy that one sometimes, never a dull moment. Had to give her a raise last month because she just won't leave."

"I'm sure that'll send her packing- So, when are you going to tie the knot?"

"When my wife okays it."

The two boys started laughing, and the Hippo lifted his big arm and gave Nick's good arm a light shove. He then gestured to the other.

"So what happened there? No, you didn't fall over and hurt yourself again, did you?"

"Nope. Actually, I just got shot this time."

The fox plucked up another piece of fish off the plate and stuck it into his muzzle.

"Shot!? Who the hell did you piss off enough for that. It wasn't this one, was it?"

He pointed over to Judy.

"...I see her giving you the stink eye."

"Oh no, not _this_ time. This is my partner Judy, Steve."

"Yes... I think I've seen her on a billboard somewhere."

Her nose just barely twitched but she stopped it.

"It's nice to-"

"Yeah, she's got a gig as the poster-girl. Who could hate a bunny cop, right?"

"Oh yes, the people they got up there at city hall, they know how to run their PR, they're real crafty. You better be careful though, Wilde, she's gonna stick ya."

The hippo laughed some more.

"Oh, I've been getting those looks all day, don't worry. I think we've been having a laser-vision fight over lunch."

"Like the old Scott Summers comics, yeah?"

Judy took a deep breath and took her scowl away from Nick. She was letting him have too much fun.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Stevenson."

She extended her paw.

"Bah, it's just Steve to you, little miss… Sorry, officer…?"

The mammal was keen at reading expressions. She hadn't meant to be difficult, she just naturally tensed whenever someone took a jab at her size.

"Hopps…"

"Officer Hopps, yes, I can remember that…"

He took her paw between two of his huge fingers and gave it a shake.

"Anyway, speaking of getting stuck… There was something I wanted to ask you, _Officer Wilde."_

Nick sobred up visably. He seemed to already know what was coming next.

"Sticky... I heard some things…"

The fox nodded.

"Is he really-"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so… just heard about it last night..."

"What happened to him, Nick?"

"We're still looking into it, sir." said Judy, "It still isn't exactly clear who or what caused-"

"Yes, but one of you has got to know what happened, don't you? What did it look like-"

Nick put his paw over the hippo's.

"You don't want to know, trust me."

The hippo nodded. He didn't say anything for a moment, he just breathed and looked down at the table.

"You know, he'd gotten really reclusive lately. He still came around to eat now and again, but you never saw him anywhere outside."

Judy stopped, and reached for her notebook.

"Sorry, do you mind if I...?"

The hippo shook his head and Judy started taking notes.

Solemnly, he continued.

"He was always looking over his shoulder. You know how he used to talk a lot? Big talk?"

"Yeah," Nick said, rolling his eyes "I remember."

"Yes, well he just stopped all of the sudden. Few months ago, he started only coming in at noon, when he did come at all. He used to come in for dinner, but then it was just lunch. I tried to get him to tell me what was up, but all I would ever get out of the little runt was 'you wouldn't buy it, Steve'. Eventually I told em I'd give em lunch for free if he'd just spill it."

Nick rolled his wrist, prompting the Hippo to continue. Steve just shook his head.

"No, he never came back in after that."

"When was this, sir?"

The hippo sat back in his large chair, causing it to creak.

"About three weeks ago, on a… tuesday? Yes, it was a tuesday..."

Judy scribbled more on her little notepad.

"Did you happen to notice anyone following Mr. Sturgis?"

"No, never, and I started checking, once I noticed him acting weird. I never saw anyone suspicious… I really tried to help, but no, he wouldn't let me."

Nick's expression grew ever more sullen. He didn't seem to know what to do either. Judy honestly expected the hippo to start crying, but he just stayed quiet for a moment.

"This and old Jumbeaux too…"

"Sorry, you knew Mr. Jumbeaux?"

Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. was the name of the elephant who'd gone missing missing last night, and it was the crime scene that Nick had waltzed into, not an hour before. That wasn't all, though. It was also the place where Judy first met Nick, so it hit close to home. Not that Jumbeaux himself was an especially pleasant mammal.

"Yeah, I knew him."

"You're friends with that old racist, Steve?"

"Yes, to some degree. It's not like Jack, Jack was a little loony but he was a quality guy. I would say I really just knew Jerry. Still even watching the people you _don't_ like disappear from the face of the earth is unsettling."

The hippo looked over to Judy.

"What has me confused, though. Jumbeaux's Cafe was just his shop, his home wasn't attached, so what was the old fart doing in his store that late? Have either of you been by there today?"

Nick opened his muzzle, but Judy spoke over him.

"Yes, sir, I have. I helped secure the crime scene this morning."

"So what was the place like? It look like a fight?"

"Well-"

Doris suddenly scampered up, and grabbed Stevenson by the arm.

"Sir, there's a problem in the kitchen! Uhm, Jouls says it's important, new guy had a liiittle bit of a screw up and-"

"God damn it."

The Hippo mumbled to himself.

"...Yes, if you want something done right around here, you've got to do it yourself."

He turned back to the two of them for just a moment.

"Enjoy your food, fellas, it's on the house."

He turned and waddled back towards the kitchen. Prompting Nick to slowly return to the plate. Judy had devoured most of the carrots, vegetables, and even the eggs, on the plate, but there were still a few chunks of fish left.

"Do continue, Carrots, any sign of a struggle?"

She furrowed her brow.

"I was _going_ to tell him we weren't ready to talk about the specifics of the case yet."

"Uh-huh, what's your point?"

"My point is, I don't need to tell _you_."

"Well, maybe if you'd let me look around, I wouldn't have to ask. C'mon Carrots, we were just sharing case files last night."

She felt herself starting to wind up again.

 _Don't let him get to you, just be calm and firm._

"Nick… we need to talk serious about this working on leave business."

"What's there to talk about, ma? I said I was sorry, I'll go right to my room when I get-"

"Nick, I need you to promise me that you won't show up at work again until you've got a doctor's note saying you're okay for it."

"Hm… actually I think I do know a doctor..."

"Your doctor, Nick! The one the precinct pays for you to see."

"Jeez, and what do I get out of this deal?"

"You're not supposed to get anything out of it! You're supposed to be at home resting like the doctor said!"

Nick sighed.

"Listen sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but if you think my idea of vacation involves me sitting around my apartment _all day_ , you've got another thing coming. I'm going stir crazy in there, and I'm plenty capable of getting around. So, little bunny, I'll be out and about as much as I please."

"No, you will not!"

"Oh, who's going to stop me, you?"

He stuffed more of the fish in his mouth, and gave her another smile. But it wasn't the usual smile. It was the fake, and dead serious 'I'm too cool to glare at you' smile.

"If I have to, I will!"

He laughed.

"Really, and _how_ are you going to do that?"

And there he had it. He had her fuming.

"I'm thirty-two years old, country girl! I can make decisions for mysel-"

"Nicolas Piberius Wilde! You will stay home and you will nurse that shoulder back to health! I have had enough of this debate, and I've had enough of this back and forth! You are not fit for duty and you are not going to interfere with the ZPD's business just to suit your own ego!"

"Really!? _That's_ what you think this is about!?"

"I know what it's about, I know you well enough t-to know..."

She stuttered.

"Oh, do go on Ms. Hippity Hopp, _please,_ play armchair psychologist with _me_! If you think you know me better than I do, tell me exactly _why_ I'm 'doing this'."

"It doesn't impress me, Nick!"

A few tears ran down her bunny rabbit cheeks.

"Life isn't some fairy tail, you can't just overcome t- _that_ …"

She gestured to his shoulder.

"...with willpower. I'm not impressed! It just scares the crap out of me that you could be wandering around throwing yourself into danger, unable to even-"

"I just went to get ice cream, Carrots! I saw the yellow tape and I decided to have a look! I'm not marching down the street waving a taser and a badge, yelling 'there's a new sheriff in town'!"

"And how long until you are?! You skipped past the tape because you thought I'd be there! I saw that grin you gave me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll be sure not to smile next time I see you!"

"That's not what this is about!"

"Well, you know what? I couldn't care less what you think of me, Carrots!"

"Then why won't you go home!"

"Because I'm worried sick about you!"

 _That_ made her pause. Her ears drooped, and she noticed for the first time how quiet the room was. They had garnered quite a few guarded stares.

"So tell me, h-how are you so thickheaded, that your first idea is that I think I need to impress you? Do I really come across as _that_ insecure?"

"W-wait, your… what do _you_ have to be worried about? I'm fine."

"It's not about if you're fine, or you're not fine!"

He gestured forcefully with his hands.

"It's about me not knowing what might happen to my partner day in and day out! It's the same deal in the uniform as it is working on the street, Carrots!"

"What are you talking about?"

Her tone of voice had started to wind down.

"You work in a pair, and you ALWAYS watch your partner's back. When you don't, bad things always happen! Maybe you spend ten years in jail, maybe you get shot! Or maybe you die!"

She looked the fox in the eyes. Nick breathed heavily through his nose as he glared.

"Nick, that's crazy talk, I'll be-"

"Is it!? Huh, really, 'cause I wonder what would've happened to me, if _someone_ hadn't stopped the _bleeding_ while I was laid out on the sidewalk!"

That hit her like a brick, she couldn't believe he would just throw that around to make a point. She watched him through hot tears as they redoubled their flow.

"What would've happened to me, if you hadn't been watching _my_ back?"

How could she respond to that? But the answer just spilled out from between her lips, between sobs.

"And how do you think it makes me feel?... to know that it might have been for nothing, if a suspect attacks you, or if something comes of that fever and someone snatches you off the street!?"

The skin on his muzzle wrinkled up. He was still wound, but he obviously couldn't think of what to say next.

"How am I supposed to live with _my_ self, if I know that I pulled off a miracle, just to lose you anyway!? Why can't you just do what's best for both of us and **stay home**!?"

The fox's features finally started to soften up. At first he seemed to try and hold his posture, but he soon deflated and sat back.

Judy just closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing.

"I'm sorry, Carrots… I know you're exhausted and… I don't mean to wear you out… it's just…"

"I'm just... worried." she sniffled.

He spoke softly.

"I know... I know. You're worried about me, I'm worried about you. We're all worried. Seems like we'd be able to find some kind of compromise."

The bunny nodded her head quietly, and took an uneven breath. She wiped the tears away, paused again and tried to let the air pass through her nose.

"Yeah… yeah it does…"

She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Nick, can I ask you something?"

His paw was back over the table, trying to hold hers, again.

"Of course, anything you want."

"Do you think that... maybe... I-I could…"

She lost the words in her throat. Nick raised his eyebrows just a little. The bunny bit her lip and pushed through.

"Could I maybe… m-move in with you?"

And just like that, his green eyes suddenly looked like they would pop right out of his skull.

"Uhm…"

His gaze shifted to either side.

"Please," Judy said, "I've had enough awkward silence today…"

She placed her head on the table and covered it with her arms.

"... just tell me no or yes."

"I need… to think... about… that. Do you seriously want to?"

"You said you missed me, right? I can keep an eye on you and-"

"Oh, I do, I do… just, you know… Everybody needs their personal space,"

He chuckled nervously.

"...and there's only one bed and-"

"So what's with the whole partner speech..."

"That's different, that's about looking after your friend in the real world… but hey, if you'll let me ride along with you, you can stay wherever you want, hell you can have the bed to yourself!"

She sighed.

"Nick, I'm not goin-"

Static chirped through the radio.

" _This is Officer Anderson. We've got a ten-eighty, suspect fleeing scene of arson! He's headed toward Sahara Square by way of Mason street! Any available units please intercept!_ "

"Uh-oh," he groaned, "sounds like you don't have time to drive me home, and that _was_ part of our deal."

"Nick, _**please**_ , I'm begging you..."

"A deal is a deal, Carrots, if you can't hold up your end..."

She placed her paws over her face.

"You're really not going to go home?"

He spoke softly, but still he fought on.

"No, I don't plan on it… I'll be okay, I promise."

"Fine! leave some money and get in the car, go!"

"It's on the house, remember?"

"We're not going to leave without paying for that!"

"Carrots, I know the guy, he'll consider it rude if we don't."

Judy just scooted out of her seat and hit the floor running. She sprinted for the police cruiser, the fox right behind. She considered outpacing him, jumping into the car and pulling away, before he could climb in, but that would just wear her out more, and she _had_ to do her job.

* * *

Nick barely got his butt into the seat before the rabbit hit the gas, but he rolled with it. He swung the door closed and buckled his belt with one hand.

"Let's get 'em, partner…"

She didn't give him a response, but then, he didn't expect one.

He dug through the console, as the bunny pulled out and swerved around a large mammal's car. Nick twisted his back so it would take the brunt of the car door instead of his shoulder, but a stab of pain still dug into him.

Judy, not seeming to notice, laid on the gas, and weaved between more traffic. It was light for now, but she'd probably need to get off of Rosemary before things thickened up. He looked back down and brushed past one of the bunny's pads and found...

"Ah-hah!"

The fox pulled out his pair of reflective sunglasses.

"Glad you kept these in here. So, where'd they say he'd be coming through, anyway?"

He donned the shades and smiled at her, but she still didn't say anything. There was a, bonus feature to shades: you didn't have to let people see your eyes droop when you felt like an asshole.

"Mason street…"

Nick nodded.

"So are you gonna...?"

"What?"

"Well you probably shouldn't forget these."

Nick flipped a switch, starting the siren and the lights. She took a heavy breath, but didn't look at him. Instead, she reached for her radio.

"This is Officer Hopps, I am pulling off west Rosemary, I'm ready to intercept Anderson. Give me a description."

"Car is a red 1988 Coyote Stinger. Suspect is a zebra of average stature, can't give you much more than that, over."

"Ten-four, I'm headed for the exit tunnel, can you give me your best ETA for him?"

"Speed he's going, I'd give you about thirty seconds 'till you meet him."

They were coming up on the exit now, and that's when Nick saw it. Twenty six seconds too early, the beat up sedan came shooting out of the exit tunnel from Savannah Central. Judy must have noticed it too, because she threw the cruiser into high gear and started threading through the ever-thickening traffic. The black and white striped hatchback whipped to the side, throwing Nick against his locked seat-belt. Judy then shot it down a narrow side road.

They came out blazing behind the tail of the red sedan, pedal to the floorboard, engine roaring. It didn't take them long to start to gain on their target.

"Hey, Judy, I've been meaning to ask you. Where's your sidearm? Didn't Bogo assign one to everybody? I know Fang has been carrying-"

"If I have to use a firearm, I've truly failed, Nick! I don't carry it!"

Well _that_ certainly made him feel so much better. He sighed, but he doubted she could hear him over the car.

"Well then, that's part of our compromise, with all that's been happening, you need to keep that thing on y-"

"Will you let me drive!?"

The fox shirked back as genuine guilt resurged. He'd already pushed her to the razor edge today, and he wanted nothing less, than to push her over that edge. Not when he cared about her the way he did. But that was the problem, because he cared about her, he couldn't let her play the naive fool, either.

"I'm serious, Carrots-"

A horn blared, and both the zebra ahead and Judy swerved out of the way.

"Nick, he is RIGHT THERE! My gun is in the glove compartment if you really need to see it!… now please, _shut up_ and play with the radio or something!"

That made his eyes go wide. He never thought the words 'shut up' would hurt him, but coming from her… well, now he knew he'd pushed it way too far.

White smoke burned off the road as the red car spun into a slide. It whipped down another a side road, causing more horns to blare. Mammals slammed on breaks, and very nearly created a blockade, but Judy guided the vehicle like a rocket, right around the corner and stayed on the perps tail. It barely even netted the zebra any ground.

Nick decided to bide his time doing exactly as she had instructed. He plugged his phone into the auxiliary cable and opened up the Pandora app. He scrolled through the list, even as the vehicle tore left to right, and clicked on a button. Immediately the speakers thumped to life, with _some mammal_ screaming.

" _...didn't know it yet. So we chanted 'wed, wed, wed!' But they didn't know they were dead..."_

"Damn it… stupid thing has been broken since the update."

The phone screen displayed what looked like an emaciated Polecat with the word "Ferrat" in big white text. He thumbed through and hit the skip button prompting a song by Squirrel Talk to come up. "Let Me See You" from the _Feed the Mammals_ album. That would do.

Nick then sat the phone down and opened the glove box, to find an unloaded pistol waiting for him. The magazine sat right next to it. He grabbed it, and he had to admit, just touching it wore on his nerves. It was still the smart thing to do.

The music lowered itself as another call came over the radio, Johnson this time.

"Hopps, we're looking at a setback here, big jam up in the tunnel! Think you can ride solo for fifteen?"

"Roger! Got it under control. Right on him now!"

Nick slid the magazine into the pistol and pulled the slide back to charge it. Unsure of what to really do with it next, he checked the safety and then carefully placed the gun in the cupholder. That was about when the cruiser lurched to the side for the final time and something _hit_.

The red sedan, spun out and slid onto the sidewalk at the T-junction ahead. It it gave the brick building there a hard tap, but the wall held. Nick's heart skipped a beat at first, but a quick scan showed the sidewalk to be empty.

The police cruiser ground to a halt, not twenty yards away. Judy had it in park in the blink of an eye and her seatbelt clicked.

"You stay here!"

Nick took the gun by the barrel and extended his arm.

"Wait! Carrots, take this before you-"

She snatched it out of his hand and slammed the door.

What few mammals there were around stopped and like lemmings they started to gather around the crashed vehicle. Judy yelled _something_ to try and get them to scatter.

The fox thought about following, of course, but now was not the time. At this point it would just distract the bunny, and this was the dangerous part. He took a deep breath and resigned himself to watching her work. _At least_ he could watch. That gave him a lot more peace of mind, than she realized.

She approach the perps car with her gun at low ready.

She really was a brave bunny. She deserved the "bravery" insignia on the badge so much more than he, or anyone else did. All she was missing was a little more street sense and she'd sure as hell make it into the hall of fame. Reclining back with the seat, he sucked in another deep breath, but something felt off.

 _Everything will be fine Wilde. This guy's got to be sore and shaken up. She'll get him, it'll all be fine._

And then he saw it. There, on the floorboard was her gun. _She_ was holding a taser.

He felt the whole stack of cards start to tip. He faintly heard her calling out 'Stop, police!' His eyes darted forward. There was motion in the car ahead, the perp was about to get out. That was bad. The radio buzzed to life again, it sounded like Delgato yelling, but Nick tuned it out. He reached down for the foot of the driver's side, but the visions from his nightmares bit down into his brain.

He watched as two scenes unfolded before him in tandem. He saw Bleaton, back in the flesh, leveling a gun on _him_ and he saw the back door of the red car swing open, and a gun barrel peak over the roof.

If the hallucinations were a window pane, Nick slammed his head through the glass. Grabbing the pistol, he hurled himself out the right side door. He stumbled, and his shoulder begged him to stop, but both shaking arms went down, leveling the .380 over the door.

 _Too late._ The zebra fired first.

Two cracks, and two rounds.

Judy tried to dodge, but he watched in horror as she snapped backwards and fell to the ground.

Nick fired back twice, but missed both shots. The zebra's hand cannon whipped towards him.

 _KAK, KAK, KAK._

Nick ducked as bullets smacked the door, turning the window into a spider web. He breathed in heavy and squeezed his eyes shut as the door rattled. This couldn't happen _again_. He **did not** want to be probed with another bullet! But then, he was leaving Carrots all alone, lying in the street.

 _Think Wilde, think!_

But this wasn't the time for thinking, this was the time for acting.

"Judy!" Nick cried out.

But no words came back, just the sound of a hooved killer stalking closer.

It was act now, or live with what might happen to _his_ bunny.

He got ready for the dash, but he twitched. Then when apprehension tried to hold him down, one particular memory tore him free. It'd seem so insane, and unnecessary ten years ago, but its profoundness struck him now.

" _That's your partner, man!_

Squatting like a slav on his old desk, Jack flailed his arms around violently.

" _You can't bend down and submit. You can't crawl away like a bitch. You've gotta bite down, and brave the straights!"_

The weasel flipped his switch blade, and to the fox's dumbfoundment, he turned the blade against his own back and gouged not once, twice but **three** times.

" _You see your_ _ **own**_ _**BACK**_ _flayed in knife wounds, before you ever,_ _ **EVER,**_ _leave your second man behind!"_

Jack placed his paw on the shoulder of his little brother -who seemed just as shocked- and shook him gently.

" _They_ _ **are**_ _your life!"_

He slung his own blood to the floor, and raised the knife.

" _You bite down on that inner-bitch and you you charge into battle, screaming like a Zulu warrior! You go back to back! That's how you_ _ **fight through!**_ "

Hooves clopped against asphalt, and Nick hurled himself out from behind the cruiser. _Left to right!_

Heart beating, footpaws sliding against asphalt, he aimed the gun. The zebra fired, but Nick's direction change saved him.

He strafed and squeezed the trigger just as everything slowed down. The hammer whipped and struck. It kicked his shoulder-wound three more times. The first bullet missed, but the second slammed into the zebra's ribs, the third into his gut.

 _You won't take her from me!_

The striped bastard staggered, but he raised his hand cannon again. Nick slid to one knee and fired. The large mammal jerked as the round crunched his sternum. Two more shots and the zebra collapsed into a gurgling, groaning heap. The large handgun clattered to the asphalt, and Nick instinctively charged over to kick the weapon away. It slid under a parked white van across the street.

The fox then sprinted over to Judy and grabbed her radio.

"Dispatch! We're on Merlin drive! Officer Hopps is hit!"

"What!? Wilde, what the hell are you- Nevermind, how's she doing!?

"I think she just took it on the plate, hold on!"

Nick released the radio and put his hands on Judy. She just laid there coughing and gasping for air.

 _Can't just leave her in the street!_

Nick wrapped his arms underneath Judy's shoulders, stood, and dragged her back towards the cruiser.

Back slapping against the warm metal hull, he yanked the door open with his bad right paw. From there he shifted them over and fell back into the hard vinyl seat with Judy on top. She grunted as they fell, but she didn't scream. That was a good sign.

He unstrapped her bullet proof vest, and threw it to the side. She immediately took in a big gasp of air, and started panting.

"Oh my God!" she said.

Nick's fingers quickly went under her uniform searching for any blood.

There was... nothing. The vest had done its job, there was just a huge dent where the plate inside had been hit. He took a deep breath, laid back, and wrapped his arms around the bunny.

"Holy hell, Carrots."

He gave her a tight squeeze, but she put her paws on his arm and pushed.

 _She'll probably have horrible bruises, you moron._

He eased up.

"Glad I stuck around to pester you _now_?"

"More or less," she panted back.

"Jeez, what does it take to win with you?"

They laid in that position for several minutes, Nick's feet dangling out the car door, police lights still flickering, open-door alarm chiming.

The Pandora radio on his phone still thumped through the car's speakers in the front seat, playing the wrong music, _again_. He couldn't reach his phone due to the grate that separated the front and back seat, and getting up wasn't worth it, so he just laid there and half listened. It was actually fitting, morbid though it was.

" _...We're killin' strangers,"_ it repeated over and over, " _we're killin' strangers so we don't kill the ones that we love…"_

The singer repeated the word "love" over and over several more times, each time with more and more emphasis. It was almost like the damn radio was trying to tell him something. The song eventually looped back to firearms.

" _We got guns, we got guns, mother fuckers better better, better run, 'cause we got guns we got guns, mother fuckers better run…"_

Nick stared at the ceiling quietly for a moment. Then he spoke over the music.

"You know what, Carrots?"

He felt her ears twitch between them.

"You wanted me to say it last night, alright, I'll say it."

"What-"

"I love you."

He felt like a huge sap, but the bunny went still. He didn't want to give her time to say anything else.

"I love you, you stupid bunny! Now stop being so damn stubborn!"

He took Judy's gun, flicked the safety back on, and shoved it into her paws. To his surprise and relief, her fingers actually curled around it. With that, he returned his bad arm to her waist, and started stroking her ears with the other. He held her until the first responding cruiser flew around the corner, a couple minutes later.


	9. Chapter 9: Déjà vu

**So um. I'm not dead. Sorry about last week, the week before I said I wasn't ready to break my "updates every sunday" promise and here I am skipping a week so soon :p**

 **Muuuuch apologies, I have been brute forcing through writer's block** _ **hard**_ **these past couple of weeks because I REFUSE to give up on this project, and so now, here I give you the** _ **second longest**_ **chapter so far!**

 **Chapter 8: Déjà vu**

* * *

Dispatch hadn't sent an ambulance.

They hadn't _needed_ an ambulance, but it irked Nick that they weren't properly looking out for Judy. What if she had-

That was about as far as he'd gotten before Officer Johnson cut him off and laid down the situation. Ten minutes ago, Officers Wolford and Delgato had come under heavy fire from what Delgato had simply described as "machine guns." All available units had been sent their way along with two ambulances. All further attempts to radio the pair had been met with silence.

The news ended Nick's protest; he'd climbed quietly into the passenger seat with Judy. Johnson was the only mammal at the first precinct certified as an EMT, so at least they hadn't neglected the bunny completely.

The lion left his partner, Rhinowitz, at the scene to take care of the mess and lock things down. Nick imagined he would get backup within the next half hour.

In that same half hour, his _second_ dose of Oxycontin would wear off. He'd decided to double down on his dosage this morning, after a short trip to the drug store. He would play it smart: Staggering each pill five hours apart would keep him from crashing at the end of each dose, _and,_ if he had a bad reaction, he could stop twice as fast.

To celebrate his new regiment, he'd popped the quirk on a brand new bottle of Pepto-Max. Opiate nausea was no joke.

The cup-full he'd swallowed before going out to look for Judy would probably last him another hour-and-a-half. After that, the hospital could give him Zofuran. He would just have to take his last Oxy at the door.

 _Sorry, doc, I had to save my partner! Couldn't bare the pain after that, so I had to take another._

The excuse was primed… but then, the mammals at the hospital probably had better things to do than heckle him about his dosage.

Nick kept his head cool and reclined as far back as the cruiser seat would let him.

He kept his paws on the bunny rabbit, using his left to stroke down her back and his reslung right arm to hold her by the waist. The chest of his Hawaiian shirt was starting to get wet. She was having a quiet cry, and he supposed he couldn't blame her. With all that had happened today: Another mammal vanishing, getting tormented at work -by him-, having a fight over lunch, and taking a bullet; it was no surprise that her emotions were starting to boil over. Then, on top of all that, _someone_ had to go and tell her that two of her co-workers were in danger.

At this rate Zootopia was going to crush the little bunny's heart, just like he'd called it. But being right no longer brought him satisfaction. He was playing for her side now. _Now_ It was depressing.

He was playing cards against the old Nick Wilde - handsome guy, kind of a jerk. The game was Hold'em and the chips were pieces of his bunny's soul. He won sometimes, lost sometimes, folded, raised, called, but at the end of the day the net result was _hopefully,_ a gain.

Today he was a loser, but _thankfully_ , he still had chips to work with and a table to play at.

He ran a paw down the bunny's back.

Gambling was on his mind. That happened sometimes when he dealt with the prospect of loss. His dad had been the same way, but, for Nick, it was truly less of an addiction and more of a fascination. Even when he did things the smart way, the safe way, random chance could always botch everything up.

Judy squeezed his waist and sniffled in what he knew was frustration. She was angry at the hand she'd been dealt today, same as he was. Then it suddenly occurred to him that he'd forgotten something important. He had _killed_ a mammal today. That was no small item.

'There had to be another way,' 'he didn't _deserve_ to die,' those were the kinds of things vet cops said going through post-shooting trauma. Nick didn't feel it, but he knew Judy did. Having hustled for twenty years, Nick had learned to live with shortchanging others. What someone _deserved_ was trivial. Though it made him squirm to think about a corpse, he firmly believed he'd made the right choice. To Judy it was different, though.

To _her_ , there was always a better way. Come at the perp from a different angle, use a baton, recover the taser... She wanted to give random chance the edge, raise the stakes, and hope for a clean payoff. She just wouldn't take the safe route, and that was the problem. Safe route, safe partner; Hero route, dead hero.

 _If only she would get it, damnit._

Then he heard her start to sob.

Cordially, he pulled the bunny a little closer and situated his arm beneath her butt. His paw stroked from top of her head down to the tips of her flattened ears. Finally he whispered over her shoulder.

"Everything'll be alright, Carrots, I promise."

Thirty-five minutes and a couple miles made him a liar.

They arrived at the hospital for check ups, and thanks to her vest, the bunny got out with just bruises. Nick got his Zofuran a little early, but only after getting scolded for the condition of his shoulder. The recoil of the gun had opened up some internal wounds, though luckily, it wasn't enough to require surgery. Everything was turning out alright, it looked like the horror show might've taken a bow for today, but the narrator reared his ugly head one more time. One more act to go.

Their examination room was on the second floor, B-wing, right down the hall from the cafeteria. The whole place turned out to be a big food court. Stalls wrapped all the way around the outside of the ward.

Judy sat at a small table not three feet away, drinking coffee and eating a carrot donut she'd picked up from a pretty, pink bakery nearby. The place looked way too perky to fit into a hospital, but then he guessed that was probably the point. Sick mammals and those who came to see them probably liked to pretend they _weren't_ in a hospital.

Nick laid up against the wall beside a vending machine, swishing a half empty bottle of Sahara-Mist. He'd been kind of peckish, but the antiseptic smell killed his appetite every time, so he talked instead.

"And here I was, thinking I was done having to smell hospital soap."

The fox brought his paw up to his nose, recoiled and flattened his ears.

"You'd think whoever sells this stuff might consider making the toilet cakes and the soap smell different."

She just shook her head, her bunny cheeks full of food.

"How is that anyway? I'm starting to wonder if you eat anything other than carrots, Carrots... _Or_ is it just carrots?"  
Judy rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Carrots, let me think..."

She squinted, hopped out of her chair and marched over to him, paw behind her back.

The fox just raised an eyebrow.

"Bend over, Lanky."

Nick hesitated for a moment but but in the end he put his hands on his knees.

"Wha-"

She stuck a chunk of the donut in his mouth.

He stared at her, but she glared back, so he chewed it a little. The tiny chunks of carrots were a little weird, but other than that, it wasn't too different from carrot cake. He stood up slowly and swallowed.

"Huh, so it's not actually that bad... probably all that sugar."

"Really, doctor? Should I have a pawpsicle instead?"

He chuckled.

"I bet if I made it carrot flavored, you would."

Another glare.

"Hey, I never said you couldn't eat what you want. I just know you're going to _crash~._ "

"Don't worry, I'm sure they won't put me back on the clock."

She crawled back into her chair.

"Oh, but I can see it now. _Someone_ falls asleep on the long bus-ride home. She gets thrown off at the last stop in Tundra Town and she's got no way to get home. Then she's forced to sit out in the cold and wait half an hour for another bus to come by. Tragically, I don't have a car to pick her up, either."

She smiled and spoke in that haughty tone.

"Well, if I see someone like that, I'll be sure to pick them up in my nice limousine on the way home. I'm sure my driver wouldn't mind."

"Heh, you should be careful… One day that shrew is going to ask you to pay him back."

The bunny giggled a little.

"I doubt it."

Nick smiled and gave his best imitation of the shrews shrill voice.

"Some day… and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me…"

Judy started to laugh outright, but that was short lived. The whole atmosphere started to shift. A wolverine in a doctors outfit ran up to a group nurses who were chattering nearby and started shouting out them. Three of those nurses got up and followed after him, the fourth started running around to different tables sweeping the court for more staff.

Both he and the bunny kept their eyes on the commotion, but Nick started up again.

"So, speaking of not having a car, I was thinking about getting one, what do you think?"

"I think if you _really_ want to see me at work, that's probably the best way to make it happen."

It took him a second for that to register.

"Oh… See, I seem to recall that it was _you_ who backed into Buffalo Butt's car last month."

That quieted her. The corners of her mouth got really short, and bent into that slight, frown bunnies were famous for.

Perhaps that had been a little much. She had gotten really upset over that back in september. Backing into your boss's car was never a settling experience, but for responsible little Judy, it had practically been a catastrophe. With all the apologizing, and the make-up gifts, it had started to get cringey. Chief Hardass himself seemed to think so too, because he had actually taken the time to sit down with Judy and outright declare he forgave her, to her face.

The fox started to cook up a sideways apology. It would need to be _just_ sincere enough to make her feel better.

 _Sirens._

His left ear swiveled towards the window; the bunny's did the same.

Nick walked over to one of the big glass walls that overlooked the emergency entrance and looked out over the street. They'd see those red flashes soon. The bunny was down from her seat and standing to his right a couple of seconds later.

Nick knew what was on the little bunny rabbit's mind; he was thinking the same thing. They'd been sitting around for the past half hour saying nothing about it, but this little time bomb had been ticking ever since Johnson had given them the news.

 _Well, at least sirens mean they're still alive._

Judy kept up a tough girl face, but Nick knew she was squirming behind it. He wanted to tell her she didn't have to fake it, but that would've been too hypocritical for him to stomach. Instead he stepped to the right, placed his left paw on top of her head and softly scratched through her fur as they waited.

As expected, two ambulances came pulling into Wing-B's emergency driveway.

* * *

Judy turned and ran for the emergency stairs, knowing the fox would follow behind.

She pushed out through the door at the bottom of the stairs to find doctors of different shapes and sizes running and shouting. A few stares came her way from a pair of alpaca nurses who stood around waiting. They looked just as nervous as she felt, and were probably waiting to do jobs they couldn't start until the stretchers were in the building.

Judy tried to pour the energy from her coffee into holding herself together, but the blue uniforms were the last nail in the coffin. In addition to several cops from ninth precinct, she saw two of her co-workers. Officers from the first precinct were unique in that they would regularly pick up duties all over town. Fifth precinct officers, on the other hand, were almost solely relegated to the southern end of Sahara square. Casino cops, they were sometimes called; their jurisdiction covered most of the gambling establishments in Sahara Square, so they tended to deal with drunks, cheaters, and eccentric criminals that came with the territory.

She wanted to keep her eyes on their faces, see if she could remember any of their names, but that wasn't why she was here. Fangmeyer came sprinting around the side of the first ambulance, it's doors just opening.

The white wolf looked into the back, recoiled, and covered his face. He swiveled on his heels and sprinted back towards the second ambulance. A wolverine with a crackling, country accent went marching out the emergency door.

"I told yew morons to pull ambulance four in _first!_ "

The ambulance driver, a honey-badger who had just stepped out of his vehicle, slumped down in front of the screaming wolverine.

"You know somethin' I don't? I weren't aware that a **corpse** got **priority** at _**my hospital**_ _!_ "

It felt like a heavy block of ice slamming into her chest. She almost didn't catch the nasty glare Officer Anderson gave the wolverine. She felt weak in the knees. Nick Wilde made it out alive, she made it out alive, this had to be wrong...

The back wheels of the first stretcher hit the concrete.

A red fuzzy arm hooked around her head and covered her eyes. Nick tried to hold her there, and she appreciated that more than he probably realized, but she _had_ to know.

Ducking away, she dashed for the emergency door just as the first stretcher rolled out.

"Carrots!"

A white sheet was pulled over it. A large, oddly shaped body that reeked of burnt hair and flesh. As soon as the stench crawled up her nose, the sight of a thrashing, burning tiger shot into her mind.

She stumbled, quivering, to a stop.

Everything seemed to go slack except her stomach. Her gut tensed up, hard as a coconut shell. The pain left her feeling like she would wretch.

As she tried to wrestle back control of her hijacked mind, the second stretcher rushed past, carrying away officer John Wolford. A plastic tube ran from a respirator down the grey wolf's throat. Gauze was wrapped haphazardly around his head and seemed to culminate around his ear. A white wolf, Fangmeyer, ran frantically beside the stretcher as it rolled through the emergency door.

Nick grabbed her before she could take any more of it in.

"Come on, Carrots, let's go."

She remembered having lunch with Nick and Delgato, just the week before. He couldn't be gone just like that...

"Now what the **hell** do you think you're doin', boy!?"

Nick stopped, and pulled her closer. She felt him tense up.

"Gomez! Who the _hell_ is letting guests _walk around_ , outside _**my E-mergency room!?**_ "

"I apologize," Nick started off, "I'm officer-"

"I don't care who you are! You ain't in no uniform! And even if you was, I don't need no more blues in my way! Now if you would _**kindly**_ relocateyourself to one of our many fine visiting areas, maybe I won't have to call secu _ **-**_ "

"Alright look, you know what?"

She heard the foxes voice rumble in his chest.

"All day today I have been getting scolded, reprimanded, and treated like a child! Not once has _**anybody**_ recognized that I am a competent adult, _**and an officer,**_ capable of making my own decisions and my own assessments!"

Judy squeezed her teary eyes shut as he yelled about her.

"On top of all of that, I have been **assaulted** , **shot at** , and have been forced to **shoot a gun** _,_ using a shoulder that, maybe you've noticed, _ **doesn't actually work**_! And before you say anything..." He chuckled in sarcastic anger.

"Consider that in the last twenty four hours, _anyone_ who I have caught the slightest bit of crap from, I have respected _**ten times**_ more…"

She opened her eyes.

"...than some wannabe Jarhead who seems to confuse which one of us is _ **the law**_!"

She stared into the fox's green Hawaiian shirt as his voice gave way to the sound of running engines. She had neverheard him yell like that, and she had _certainly_ never heard him flaunt his badge before.

The wolverine responded with a menacing whisper.

"Boy, I had my feet in combat boots since before you was an itch in your daddy's little red sack. Now, if you thinks that just because I's retired-"

A deep growl rumbled from behind. Judy looked up. The doctor, still red in the face, was looking up over Nick's shoulder. Behind them, Anderson, one of the first precinct's polar bears stood glaring down at the wolverine, teeth bared.

The wolverine grumbled.

"You gots somthin' to say, big fella?"

"I am going to say directly what Officer Wilde tries to… go do your job, little mustelid, before we give you ride to _our_ place of business."

The wolverine stared back up at Anderson, and for what seemed like an agonizing minute, Judy feared that the three boys might end up in a scrap. Both Nick and the polar bear stood like angry statues until the wolverine finally waved a dismissive paw and stormed off.

Anderson spat at the pavement in the wolverine's general direction.

"Disrespectful mudak."

Judy watched the wolverine march into what was presumably the ER, Nick's heavy breaths finally slowing back down. Delgato was gone. They must have wheeled him away.

"Wilde," Anderson said.

Nick looked up at the bear, eyes still squinted.

"I was going to tell you it's stupid that you try to work with your shoulder, but this was said already, it seems. Anyway, don't take what happened today too hard... sometimes taking life is only way to save it."

The polar bear patted him on the shoulder, turned and thumped back towards the hospital.

Those words felt like hot sewage, pouring down Judy's back.

What Nick had done… well,the last thing she wanted to do was give him a lecture about it. She took it for granted that he knew it was wrong. Surely it would tear him up if she prodded at those wounds... _wouldn't it?_

She had not expected to hear _another officer_ brush off the death of a mammal as a simple necessity. Was it really so naive to expect police to never harm the citizens they were sworn to protect? The realization made her sick.

Every once in awhile, the bunny would have a moment of clarity like this.

Yes, it was naive.

As naive as believing Zootopia to be some kind of egalitarian paradise. As naive as thinking _she_ wasn't just as subconsciously speciesist as the next mammal. As naive as thinking equality was something that simply needed to be _recognized_ , rather than painstakingly built through accommodation and good will. Or believing the law to be absolute and infallible.

After breaking into the Spotson residence, warrantless, to save a cheetah cub from The Catnapper, Judy had expected the case to be dropped. Instead, the judge just swept the whole thing under the rug. She realised later that she'd only solved the nighthowler case by first blackmailing Nick, a felon who she was obligated to arrest.

All these epiphanies, in some way or another, had gone into her "Life is messy" speech at Nick's graduation. This _latest_ insight was a bit too late, and it certainly didn't seem to fit the bill. "Loss of life is acceptable" was not motivational material.

 _How can that be right..._

"Carrots, are you okay? Hey..."

She looked up at him. He watched her with a painful amount of concern in his eyes, and gave her a gentle nudge towards the hospital.

"I… I don't know."

He released her shoulder, gripped her left paw, and walked her back towards the building. Judy took a deep breath, and wiped the fresh tears out of her eyes. She couldn't make the sobbing stop no matter how much she tried.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to just… accept it, you know?"

The fox nodded without hesitation.

"It's just, how am I supposed to just accept that something like this… happens? I work so hard to make sure it doesn't happen, I-"

The paw squeezed hers.

"Come on, Carrots, you can't honestly be trying to make this _your_ fault."

She sniffled again and forced a smile.

"What about you, tough guy? Did you finally decide you're proud to be a cop, or is something else loose?"

"Oh, something is definitely loose."

He gave her his usual smug smile.

"I'm going to really snap if I don't catch a break."

"You could have been having a break all day..."

She stopped herself from lecturing him again, but that just ended up letting the sobbing back in.

"Well, let's not mull over what would've happened if I did. _Come on_." he chided.

He herded her up to a nurse, who was scribbling something intensely onto a clip-board.

"'scuse me, where should we wait for someone in the ER?"

The irony of this nurse being a tiger wasn't lost on Judy. The nurse looked around, and then down at the fox.

"Uh, down the hall... through the double doors on the right."

* * *

"Can I see him once he's out?"

"Are you family?"

Fangmeyer realized he was wearing his 'ZPD' T-shirt, rather than his uniform.

"I-I'm his partner."

The nurse nodded and grabbed a flower shaped pen from her mug.

"Would you happen to have an ID on you, Mr…?"

The wolf jammed his paw into his pocket and threw his badge onto the counter.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Officer, you meant you're his _partner."_

"Well, what did you..."

He watched the pig's face turn a darker shade of pink.

"... _Oh_ "

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry, Officer…"

"Fangmeyer. It's okay-"

"N-no, I mean, if you aren't family then I... I'm afraid I can't let you through, unless he puts you on his visitation list."

Fang gripped the edge of the wooden counter.

"I'm sure there's something we can work out-"

"Officer, there's nothing to work out, until he's stable and unless he names you, we can't let you- Hey!"

He grabbed his badge and dashed for the door to the ER.

"Fangmeyer!" he heard Anderson call.

Fangmeyer hit the frame and twisted the knob but it was locked. He started to sulk down to his knees, but he reasoned quickly. They couldn't lock _all_ the doors that led to the ER, that would violate the safety codes. So he threw himself to his feet and sprinted back the other way, but this time Anderson stepped in front and grabbed him. He struggled and tried to kick the bear off, but the larger animal proved to have a stronger grip.

"Dallas! Control yourself!"

Fangmeyer snarled with all the ferocity of a caged animal. Only after a whole minute of the savage flailing did he finally break down and start sobbing. He bared his teeth and Anderson held him there until he got himself under control.

After he finally did, his larger companion guided him to the waiting room and sat him in one of the teal cushioned seats.

Wilde showed up with Hopps a couple minutes later. Those two, along with the stoic bear, would keep him company over the next agonizing hour.

Hopps seemed to be as distressed as he was, but Wilde was just as cool as ever. The fox just picked a magazine off the table and started reading. It struck Fangmeyer as heartless at first, but he caught onto their father-daughter dynamic a few minutes later when Judy had a particularly bad breakdown. Eventually he took to trying a crossword, but his focus just wouldn't come together. Time was dragging on way too slow and he was getting more anxious by the minute.

He stared at the white marble floor and tried to get his leg to stop shaking.

" _You dumb ass,"_ Wolford said, " _wipe that grin off your face and put out that cigarette. You're standing right next to a gas pump."_

Fangmeyer squeezed the octagonal pen between his fingers hard enough to leave an indent beneath his fur. He wanted to smoke now more than ever, but he hadn't carried a pack on him in two months. Another memory surfaced: the dark grey wolf taking his pack of blue camels, crushing them in his paw and throwing it into a puddle. That'd aggravated him sure, but he was way too much of a good natured goof to snap at Wolford about it. He'd just laid his ears down like an Omega and kept walking.

Now, here he was, almost acting feral because of Wolford's… chances. His chest burned like the ash he'd smelled on his friend, like he smelled on Delgato. He grinded his teeth and struggled to re-compartmentalize the passing of the tiger. He could only bear one weight at a time.

The hands on the clock seemed to grow more menacing as minutes passed.

He could forgive a lot of things. He could pass on the generous love of mama Fangmeyer to just about anyone. " _Forgiveness is good for the soul"_ she used to preach. That was her sunday morning sermon over chocolate chip waffles every week. She never bothered to read another passage or spin 1:18 a different way. But he couldn't forgive this, not if medicine failed him _again_.

"Hey, Fangmeyer, you still carry around those little mints?"

Torn from his thoughts, he looked over at Wilde. He barely managing a sound.

"Huh?"

"The little fruit flavored ones, they were like Cowtoids…"

"Wilde, those were to help me stop smoking."

"Right… So do you have any?"

"No!"

The fox put up a paw as Fangmeyer raised his voice.

"Just thought I'd ask. They were really good the last time I had a few."

Anderson started to chuckle.

"Nick!" the bunny yelled.

"Calm down, Hopps, I'll buy him more if he-

"How many did you take!?" Fangmeyer asked.

"Last time? Three or four… Really been craving some lately."

"You're craving them because they have nicotine in them!"

The little grey bunny glared up at Wilde, but the fox just placed a paw on top of her head and ruffled her fur.

"Well _that_ certainly explains that."

It made the wolf jealous in a morbid sort of way. The way those two got on, it wasn't the same, but it was similar. He should've treated Wolford better. Sleeping with Miranda wasn't worth what he'd paid. All he could do was replay Wolford screaming at him, chewing him out, and throwing them out the door. Worst of all, Fang had tried to play it off for laughs.

It wasn't funny.

He tried to tell himself that he wasn't hated. He thought back to the way the grey wolf had limped straight to him first, back at the warehouse, but that only made it hurt worse.

"W-wilde," he sniffled.

The fox's expression softened. He had that way where his normally slant eyes would open up wide.

"You've got to ask before you take stuff like that."

The fox gave him a nod as he sobbed.

"I will, take it easy budd-"

"Mr. Fangmeyer!?"

The piglet from before called out to him.

"Officer, s-sorry."

He glanced over with his teary eyes.

"H-he gave your name, you can-"

He was out of his seat and off down the hall, before she could finish her sentence. The pink little mammal cringed and ducked out of the way as he ran past but he was too elated, and _finally_ , too focused, to feel his normal guilt for scaring prey.

* * *

Fangmeyer found his friend in much the same state that he'd left him. There were more IVs, but the real difference now was how smooth the respirator pushed air. It didn't have to fight Wolford trying to suck oxygen down like before.

The other wolf had long since closed his eyes. They'd cut off his clothes but he still smelled like smoke and gas.

"...the lungs are a very sensitive part of the body, you see. After the stomach pump we needed to perform a bronchoscopy…"

The mouse rambled on over the sound of the bleeping EKG machine. Fangmeyer took Wolford's paw in his own. This asshole looked absolutely pitiful, the way the tube ran _down into_ his throat, choked Fang up _._ He caressed over the top of Wolford's paw with his thumb. The wolf opened his eyes and gave him a hard stare.

The white wolf took a gander at the nickname.

" _Fag-meyer."_

Obediently, he tried to release the other wolf's paw, but surprisingly Wolford grabbed ahold of his wrist. The stare got softer.

"Mr. Fangmeyer!" The mouse shouted.

He looked down at the small doctor, standing on the table.

"Mr. Wolford made you his patient advocate, so please listen!"

He stared down at the mouse.

"W-what?"

"Patient advocate! It means it's your job to make medical decisions on Mr. Wolford's behalf, should he become unable to…"

Fangmeyer looked back down at Wolford, he'd closed his eyes tight again. Fangmeyer gently interlaced their fingers.

"I know what it means."

The mouse sighed.

"As I was saying, we're letting him rest first, but Mr. Wolford still needs to have his CAT scan done. It's very important, when dealing with a concussion, to know where the damage is. Then there is the matter of treating the contamination in his lungs."

"C-contamination?"

"Indeed, even now damage is being done. The lungs scar very easily, and gasoline can cause severe chemical burns to such sensitive tissue. I'm afraid his coughing has allowed the gas to spread around his lungs quite extensively."

Fangmeyer squeezed Wolford's paw. The mouse seemed to notice his apprehension.

"That is why there's a procedure I want to try, but if we're going to do it we need to do it now!"

The little doctor held his tiny clipboard tight.

"What is it?"

The mouse adjusted his spectacles.

"Basically we will need to perform what's called a lung lavage. It means need to rinse his lungs out."

Fangmeyer grimaced.

From there the mouse went into detail about how the procedure would be conducted. One lung at the time. Saline solution. Vibrating vest. All the while he felt Wolford squeeze his hand tighter and tighter. He knew why.

"The only trouble is Mr. Wolford won't give me an answer either way. We can't proceed without confirmation from the patient…"

"Or his advocate?" Fangmeyer asked.

"Precisely."

The wolf looked back over to his partner.

"C'mon buddy... you've gotta be brave."

A tighter squeeze.

"I'm not sure I understand," the mouse said.

Fangmeyer looked down.

"He almost drowned as a puppy... he won't even go past his waist in water."

"Ah… I understand, but this could be his life we're talking about…"

The grip got tighter still. Fangmeyer felt his heart beating in his chest.

"Let me go," Fangmeyer started.

Wolford opened his eyes again. He could see the fear in those yellow eyes.

"Let go of my wrist and I'll give the okay."

He just felt his partner squeeze. He thought he even saw him start to bite down on the breathing tube. This was hard for him and Fangmeyer knew it, but finally the other wolf's clutch snapped open. Fang gave his partner a moment to grab him again, but Wolford's paw only trembled. Slowly he pulled his arm away.

"Just sign here… please."

The mouse nudged a much larger clipboard over towards Fangmeyer.

With that they took Wolford away. He followed them down the hall as far as they would let him, paw pressed gently against Wolford's shoulder.

A nurse then guided him to where Wolford's staying room would be.

* * *

It took some weight off Fangmeyer shoulders to know progress was being made towards his friends recovery. Still, he felt uneasy knowing what was happening to Wolford in this very moment. They were basically subjecting him to a controlled drowning, if he woke up during that...

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely getting a car," Wilde said.

He watched Hopps climb dexterously to the top of the radiator and pulled the teal curtains open. She didn't seem to be so glum as before, but he could tell that her smile was at least partially fabricated. Was she worried too, or was it the other casualty that was bothering her…

 _No, don't think about him…_

"You're not getting a car when you can only use _one arm!"_

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Is that a serious question, Nicolas Wilde!?"

" _What?_ They let amputees drive."

"No car!"

He smiled at her.

"Okay, alright. No car."

He winked.

The bunny groaned at him.

That was about when the doorknob creaked and a familiar cape buffalo stepped through the doorway. They all turned their heads to look at him.

"You know, I don't have all the time in the world," Bogo said softly, "you idiots need to find a way to stay out of the hospital."

"Nice to see you too, sir."

Bogo dropped some cards on Wolford's bedside table.

"Wilde, do I even need to explain why I shouldn't see you here?"

The fox held his smile and his smug tone.

"You know, I was actually thinking of going to the Grand Palm instead to drink and gamble, but then I thought it'd probably be better to take an injured officer to the hospital."

Bogo growled and Hopps gave him the stink eye.

"Easy big guy," he started to sound a little nervous, "I'm kidding, Hopps already gave me the business, I got it."

But the buffalo's eyes stayed glued to the fox for a solid ten seconds.

"So I take it my battered officer is still being treated."

"Y-yeah," said Fangmeyer.

Bogo gave him a firm look.

"I see you two aren't fighting anymore."

Fangmeyer looked down at the off white floor tiles.

"...Good, I've had enough rearranging schedules over this little production of yours."

Judy put a paw on his thigh. He took a deep breath and looked up at Bogo.

"Yes, sir."

"Anyway, it's just as well that he's not here, he doesn't need to see what I am about to show the _two_ of you. Wilde, scoot."

The Buffalo thumbed towards the door.

The foxes eyebrows furrowed, and that made the bunny uneasy. Hopps looked back and forth between the other two males as Wilde turned his glare on the chief.

"Ch-"

"Chief," Hopps said, "please, if it has to do with a case, let him stay."

The fox looked astonished. He stared down at the bunny, his big green eyes almost seeming to grow larger. The chief gave her a cynical glare.

" _I_ don't want him in harm's way _either_ , but we still work on case files together at home."

Bogo raised an eyebrow at the bunny. She was one of his best detectives, so to a limited extent, she had some sway over the chief's decisions. After a thick silence the cape buffalo finally grunted.

"Fine. But this better be the last I hear of _you_ getting involved with legwork, Wilde."

The fox gave him two thumbs up and an over-exaggerated smile.

Bogo pulled up a chair next to the officers and took his iPaw out of it's sleeve.

"Fangmeyer I am reassigning you to a new case; Hopps, since I've moved you recently already, I'm giving you the _option,_ but I would very much like to have you on as well. _"_

The rabbit nodded.

" _W_ hat I'm going to show you is graphic, so brace yourselves. If you find it's too much I can't make you stay, but you will need to review this later, at the station."

The fox nodded and the bunny craned her neck to see the screen.

"This just got taken down off Paddit, I.T. is looking into tracing the IP as we speak."

The buffalo sifted through a few screens and then brought up a video attached to an email. The black box filled the screen, and was followed by a loading symbol. A desert scene faded in, dunes in the background.

A mammal, it looked like a white lipped peccary, sat in the sand holding an assault rifle, It had a perverse smirk plastered across it's face.

"Hello... and welcome back to my show. You know me, and my boys, The Trappers. Well this time on cage the animal, we're going to be catching a very, _special,_ type of predator. The City of Zootopia is one of their favorite haunts."

He grunted, using the but of the gun to push himself to his feet.

"...Ladies and gentleman..."

Big tan letters outlined in bold black flashed onto screen, pushing the background out of focus. A deep-voiced auto-tune filter distorted the peccaries voice.

"This... is cop trappin!"

Nothing could have prepared Dallas Fangmeyer for what he would see over the course of the next eight minutes. Loud electronic music blared over the video feed of an assault rifle mounted camera. The wielder kicked open a warehouse door, and Fangmeyer was forced to watch, first hand, his own partner being gunned down from the shooter's perspective.

There was a futile attempt to retaliate, where Wolford fired his gun over the car door. The car was then thrown in reverse to escape a flank, before it finally the crashed into the warehouse wall. Delgato was dragged out of the car. He tried to fight off the attackers and was shot through the stomach.

The white wolf closed his eyes and shuttered.

He heard the audio skip, and opened his eyes to find the scene had changed.

"Where the fuck is Matias? Où est-il?"

"Je ne sais pas, patron."

" _Fuck!_ How long does it take to set a fucking building on fire? Cebra estúpida!"

The camcorder gave a good view of the bleeding Delgato. Fangmeyer took deep breaths. They stepped on the tiger's head and kicked him around, but he didn't seem to have enough strength left to respond. The camera then swept to Wolford who was muzzled with a bloody head, and a boar on top of his back.

"Il's saigner à mort,"yelled the antelope holding down Delgato.

The camera focused in on Wolford, and lowered down to just above eye level.

"Mierda… You hear that, doggy? Your little boyfriend here's bleeding out. He's not very much fun anymore, so that means we're gonna have to play with you instead."

Wolford growled, stubbornly, and even after a menacing warning from his captor, the brave wolf continued to taunt. That was about when Fangmeyer lost track of the specifics. His cop mind stopped working, and his emotions took hold.

The antelope fired into the back of Delgato's head and sprayed bloody and chunks across the room. Tha sanguine shower left Fang sick with a slack jaw. The peccary did not relent there. Tears running down Fangmeyer's face, the savage mammal interrogated Wolford in

Tears ran down Fangmeyer's muzzle. The savage mammal continued by interrogating Wolford in gameshow killer fashion, he cut off his beloved friends ear, and poured that vile gasoline down his throat. He watched Wolford vomit it out through corners of his mouth, he heard his own police siren in the distance, and he watched the captors set the warehouse ablaze with Wolford still inside.

When the video finally cut again, the Peccary was sitting in the sand dunes with the sun falling lower and lower in the sky.

"I hope you enjoyed today's episode as much as I did. I think we… taught that nice police mammal a thing or two he didn't know, don't you? Anyway, since you are still here, I have a special announcement to make, on behalf of my friends and I."

The peccary sat his gun to the side and crossed his legs with a smile.

"My friends, I am excited to announce that _I_ will be attending the new mayor's inauguration!"

The mammal was beaming with sickening joy. The peccary stretched his arms out proudly to either side.

"Unfortunately, since I am gracing you with my presence, I do have a few conditions… Well that's not true, I have just one, but it's a doozy… I bet you at home have guessed it by now."

He pointed at the camera with both fingers.

"That's right, no predator will be allowed to attend the event! It is a sacrifice that _I know_ you will be willing to make. Now, you may be wondering… what… are you gonna do, if there _are_ predators at the inauguration… well"

The peccary leaned out of the shot off the side. He grunted and pulled into view made Fangmeyer shutter. An almost cartoonishly large piece of plastic explosive, covered in wires and makeshift shrapnel.

The Peccary grinned and shook his head side to side.

"Happy Birthday."

He started to chuckle.

"Before I end, I just want to give my thanks to all my producers, all the people who got me here, my staff, my boy Carlile - he's awesome -, my actors John Wolford and ah… whatever the fucking kitty cat's name was… and of course, all of their precious loved ones. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and remember..."

The savage animal leaned into the camera, and gave it a cold murderous glare.

"...No. Fucking. Predators."

* * *

 **So hey, some of you guys have mentioned that you wanted longer chapters, and after these past two chapters I've been thinking. Would you guys like it if I shot more for 5K+ words a chapter? I think it'd be great, but that does mean the updates will become bi-weekly.**

 **In all honesty I'm probably going to give that system one more try either way, so it will likely be two more weeks before the you see the** _ **next**_ **chapter, but if you really loved the shorter weekly updates, let me know! Anyway don't worry about the next chapter getting postponed past that firm Sunday deadline, I've got some scenes I'm dying to write that are coming up next, so writers block begone!**

 **And of course, as always, review if you can, feedback is my lifeblood. Fav and subscribe, but ONLY if you liked. Ciao peeps!**

 **-Shayu out.**


	10. Chapter 10: Roulette

**Holy hell. That took like… forever and a half. I'm sorry. I clearly cannot be trusted when I post due dates for myself, but let me set your minds at ease. If I EVER decide to give up on this, you have my solemn oath that I will tell you in an update, my dear readers. If things are silent from me it just means I'm workin on it, so don't fret!**

 **The week after I posted the last chapter, I had to go back to work… gotta work late tomorrow actually. Anyway, it's REALLY futzed up my schedule, and I took way to big of a bite with this chapter on top of that. Next chapter, smaller bites, smaller bites are the name of the game. Still gonna try for two weeks normally, but I'm gonna give myself an extra week for the next update. My mind needs to recover from birthing this Titan.**

 **I did my very best on quality control with this one, but I told myself I HAD to send it out tonight. The bits at the end might get some more revising a little later on but I'm about to pass out and I've made you people wait long enough. Again, my sincerest apologies. Enjoy the new longest chapter so far~**

 **Ohyeah! and that reminds me. I was embarrassed to realise that my use of tildes (~) is not in line with standard English. The way I use them actually comes from teenagey text speak, but I refuse to stop using it in dialogue cuz its a nifty tool so… I'll just steal this explanation of it from reddit.**

* * *

 **~ : "when used at the end of a sentence it's intended to convey a cute warbling trail-off rather than an abrupt stop."**

* * *

The last rays of sunlight retreated up the massive climate wall. A blazing ball of gas was setting behind the hospital and would soon leave its rival, the wall's distant heating vents, to glow uncontested.

Judy Hopps sat cross-legged in the window sill of the dark hospital room, the only light coming from a bed lamp. One comatose Wolford had been wheeled into his room just an hour ago. There were fewer IVs than before and the breathing tube had been replaced by an oxygen mask, but he wasn't expected to wake for some time.

Judy had Zoogle'd those glowing red vents, before. Apparently, the wall was pumping all the waste heat from cooling Tundra Town into Sahara Square. At nine PM the system would "coast" and the vents would shut down. The heat would then be rerouted to underground steam turbines which would help power Sahara Square's dehumidifiers. Captured water would be piped to the Rainforest District's sprinkler system to make a dent in the plumbing bill.

It was fascinating how the wall moved desired elements from one ecosystem to another, but Judy often found herself wondering how the whole wall was powered in the first place; it had to consume a _massive_ amount of energy.

Pondering, if nothing else, was a pleasant way to disconnect from it all. Everybody had their own way to do it, she figured. Sleeping seemed to be Fangmeyer's solution; the white wolf had passed out with his face in his partner's lap some time ago. He seemed happy that way.

 _ **...ve you, you stupid bunn...**_

Anxiety thumped in her chest.

There really wasn't anybody to keep Fang _awake_. Nick and Bogo had left half an hour ago, not _ten minutes_ after they wheeled John in. The normally perky bunny felt too torn up to hold the conversation, and Anderson was a quiet chunk of ice.

The chief had to meet with the mayor over the bomb threat, but Nick wouldn't give a straight answer.

She _did_ see the way he stared at Wolford.

" _Hey I… really just need to clear my head… if I go, will you be alright?"_

She had said "yes", of course, but whether or not that was ultimately true, she didn't know.

 _ **...stop being so damn stubborn… I lo-...**_

She snatched her phone. Slide to unlock. Password 4729. Messages. Nicholas Wilde.

' _Did you take the bus?'_

It took a few seconds. Eventually three little dots in a speech bubble appeared and started bouncing. She expected to get something silly back, or maybe something a little snarky since his mood was low.

' _ **NW:**_ _Yeah.'_

She frowned. That was it?

Judy's ear swiveled. Grunting. She twisted her head around.

There, sitting up in his white vinyl-lined hospital bed was the mammal of the hour. Wolford blinked. Trying to adjust his posture, his eyes went down to the weight in his lap.

" _You're awake!"_ Judy whispered.

Wolford gave her one glance before his yellow eyes moved back to the IVs and wires. He sat very still. She expected the masculine wolf would open his muzzle and say something callus. That was how he usually covered his vulnerability… But Instead his eyes fixed themselves on the oxygen mask.

"...Hey Wolford? Are you..."

He didn't acknowledge. Instead his fingers wrapped around the mask's elastic headband.

"I don't think you should…"

But he pulled the mask away, closed his eyes, and inhaled. As he exhaled, the wolf started to shake. Judy watched him shove the mask back into place, breath hard, and then rip it away again. He wheezed as he tried for another lung full. It was like a child covering their face with a blanket and hoping the monster would go away.

There was something distinctly perverse about seeing this. This wasn't her business..

Judy felt two clashing drives bubbling in her belly: The urge to look away, and the urge to help. As wolford ripped the mask away and sucked in one more, she knew.

Her feet hit the floor. He descended into a coughing fit.

The white one woke with a start. Fangmeyer whipped his head around confused, but then eyes locked onto Wolford. He snatched the mask out of Wolford's paw and tried to shove it back onto his partner's face. The coughing left the darker wolf's muzzle open too wide, however.

Judy was up on the bed railing in a second.

"What do we do!?"

Fang ended pinning his partner down, and grabbing his snout. It took a couple of tries, but once he got the muzzle clamped shut, the mask was shoved back in place. The elastic was hooked back around Wolford's head..

Wolford seemed to _try_ to keep his muzzle narrow as he continued to hack.

Fang placed one paw on Wolford's back, the other on his chest. He held him like that until the coughing subsided. The darker wolf's eyes eventually refocused..

"Hey..." Wolford said.

"H-hey," Fangmeyer responded.

Judy's muscles relaxed and she sighed. She watched the eye contact between the two wolves get sheepish. The _girly_ part of her couldn't help but find that adorable. Neither of them said anything for a moment.

The two of them had been fighting, she knew, but surely...

"So," Fangmeyer started first, "if I say I'm sorry now, w-will you-"

"Quiet."

Fangmeyer closed his maw and diverted his eyes immediately.

The darker wolf grumbled, but not before taking a breath.

"Don't give me that..."

Fangmeyer gulped silently.

Judy watched the Wolford stare at Fang. She wracked her brain for something to say, but the silence was heavy.

"God damn it," Wolford said finally, "just let me suffocate in peace will you… I'm sorry, alright?"

And _that_ earned him Fangmeyer's blank doggy stare.

" _What!_?" Wolford asked aggravated, "what's with the look?"

"Well," Fang started, "w-why do _I_ get an apology _?_ "

Wolford let out a hankered sigh.

The deep voice of a polar bear, startled Judy.

"Aww."

It impressed Judy how fast the concussed wolf managed to whip his head around and glare at Anderson.

The bear pursed his lips.

"Kiss and make up, malen'kiy galooboi~"

Wolford growled.

"...We can't understand your mountain speak, Ivan."

Anderson tried futilely to glare at Wolford, but he just burst into a fit of laughter that almost shook the room.

The darker wolf folded his arms and turned his scowl back on Fangmeyer.

The glare made Fang shirk back.

"Fangmeyer, I'm sorry because… I shouldn't have… you know… yelled at you."

The bear continued to giggle.

"Oh, you have way with words. Is like poetry."

"Anderson..." Judy started.

"Who let him into my room anyway!?"

When no-one answered, Wolford's glare at Fangmeyer grew darker.

"Davay, davay! at least kiss his forehead, for fuck sake!"

Wolford growled, but the throaty noise was strangled away when Fangmeyer wrapped his arms beneath Wolford's shoulders and squeezed him.

"Da, that's good too~."

And _that_ was a blush if Judy had ever seen it. It was a bit difficult to tell on fuzzy mammals, but if you learned to identify the standing hairs, they were a telltale sign.

Wolford shrunk back at the offense and looked down at his partner.

"What, the hell are you doing?" he asked.

Fangmeyer sniffed.

"Not going to your funeral, asshole."

Wolford glanced off to the side.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Booo!" the polar bear yelled through massive cupped paws.

"Where's my call button?" Wolford asked.

"Um, I- let me see, here… "

Fangmeyer started to fumble around with equipment.

"...well here's the TV remote and-"

Wolford grabbed Fang by the scruff his neck as he leaned away.

"W-what?"

"Oh, and I just remembered. _Now,_ you can apologize."

Fangmeyer gave him more of the dinner plate eyes.

He got a glare back.

"O-oh. Yeah, I'm sorry about last saturday, Wolford."

Fangmeyer played with his thumbs.

Wolford seemed to enjoy holding his partner in such a position.

"And why are you sorry?"

"Because that probly, wasn't cool."

"What wasn't cool?"

"S-sleeping with Miranda."

Wolford stared him down.

"I don't know. She was pretty hot, I think sleeping with her was pretty cool. But where was it you screwed up?"

"S-seriously?"

"Seriously, I forgot, what was it about?"

"I-I-"

"Y-you?"

"Y-y-you" Fang stuttered sarcastically, "are an asshole."

"Huh," said Wolford.

He released Fangmeyer, grabbed the TV remote and switched on the flatscreen. He then very pointedly ignored the other wolf.

"Are you really going to do this?"

Wolford, did not flinch. He just changed the channel. Judy had serious doubts that Wolford was even watching. It made her heart ache just a little. It was hard not to sympathize with Fangmeyer after the day she'd had.

"You're acting like teenagers," she grumbled.

Wolford ignored her too.

"I didn't do anything, Hopps!"

"Oh, you didn't?" said Wolford.

He gave Fangmeyer another ugly look.

"I-I mean, I did... but I'm not the one playing with the silent…"

Wolford looked back at the screen.

"...treatment."

On the screen there was a commercial with a chipmunk trying to sell golden nuts as a long term investment.

Another channel flip.

"I'm sorry," Fangmeyer said, "I said, I'm sorry."

Wolford continued to ignore his partner.

"I'm sorry, for sleeping with Miranda instead of hanging out with you."

Another channel. No eye contact, no response.

"I-I'm sorry for blowing you off to have sex… with her."

"I'm listening..."

Fangmeyer flattened his ears. He looked at Judy with that "help me" face of his, but she didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry for... sleeping with her at your place?"

Judy blushed a little, but it got no reaction from Wolford.

"I-I'm sorry for-"

"Porking a _whore_ in _your bed_ , _under the sheets_ , while you weren't home, _Wolford_."

Judy went wide-eyed and short faced.

Fangmeyer looked down.

The big polar bear just giggled quietly in the corner.

"R-right, I'm sorry for... _that…_ "

Wolford flipped channels again.

The snow leopard news anchor spoke in a serious tone.

" _Despite a city gripped in fear, rockstar Ferrat says he refuses to cancel his 'Vacation from Hell' tour, on which he is set to play a whopping ten shows in Zootopia over the course of three months."_

"Say it."

" _What?_ "

"Say it out loud."

Fang _actually_ whimpered.

"You're not getting out of it like that, you big eight year old. Nut up."

" _When reached for comment, Ferrat had this to say:'  
'So what do you to say to the folks, you know, who ask 'Aren't you scared?' These attacks and threats are focused primarily on predacious animals, like yourself.'_

The Polecat on screen rubbed the back of his neck.

' _Am I scared? Of course I'm scared… but I don't think that means, necessarily, that backing out of the tour is the right decision."_

' _You don't think it might be safer for everyone?'_

' _I think, that in this… situation. The correct decision is to not deviate from what I said I would do. If I do less shows, do more shows, then I'm reinforcing the idea that violence is what gets people to listen… gets their attention. You know it's-"_

"I'm sorry... for having sex with the very _nice_ sheep girl I met… i-in your bed."

Wolford rolled his eyes and turned off the TV.

"I give it a five out of ten…"

Fangmeyer ears started to flatten again.

"Are you gonna watch the movie with me now, asshat?"

"Oh… Y-yeah."

Wolford made hard eye contact, causing Fang to lean away, but he didn't flinch. That seemed to be taken as honesty. Wolford sighed.

" _Alright_ , untuck your tail and go find me a nurse, _please_ , would you pal? I'm getting hungry."

Judy tried to interject, but Fangmeyer was out of the bed and out the door like an wench wrapped around his alpha's finger.

She sighed.

~x~

Judy devoted the next several minutes to a very unwieldy task: comforting Wolford. She was honestly happy to see the brusque wolf awake, even if he was moodier than mule at a bunny shower. His unwillingness to accept straight affection, however, made things difficult.

Eventually she decided it was probably best to leave. Even Anderson took a hint and stepped out, though he didn't move far from the door.

Judy had just given the wolf a warm farewell and stepped out of the room when she got a new Muzzlebook notification.

Judy unlocked her phone.

xXx

 _ **Nick Wilde**_

 _7:01PM - Oasis Hotel & Casino, Sahara Square._

" _They touched it up some more, but this place was still way better when it was the Grand Palm. Bucksy knew how to run the place."_

 _ **Blake Sturgis**_ _and_ _ **Honey Dewell**_ _like this._

 _ **Blake Sturgis:**_ _Yeh._

 _ **Nick Wilde:**_ _You holding up alright, big guy?_

 _ **Blake Sturgis:**_ _Trying my best Thx for asking..._

 _xXx_

What was he doing at a casino? Was he off having fun after all this!?

No,she was misreading. Nick didn't convey his mood very well through text. Just because the post made him look like he was fine, didn't mean he was. She supposed he never said he was headed home… but then, what he _had_ said…

The bunny groaned.

" _I need to clear my head…"_

That was code for "I want to be alone."

Her ears folded back naturally.

Though snarky, Nick was typically warm and welcoming with friends. It was only on rare occasions that he would get standoffish like this. Judy's first impressions of the fox had left her thinking he was your typical extrovert. He handled language well, and he really did seem comfortable in the spotlight. But it just wasn't that simple.

Over time she started to notice the little things. He didn't like surprises. He hated having his messy workspace cleaned up, and personal space became an issue when he was tired. Heck he hardly let anybody but Judy touch him in the first place. What Nick Wilde _actually_ was, she'd realised, was a practiced introvert. Though he was silver tongued andadapted to crowds, he still _needed_ that time to himself.

It was part of why she _wasn't_ going to get to move in with him... That fact stressed her out, not only because she needed to keep an eye on him, but also because it would have been a great way to... connect with the fox… they wouldn't see each other at work for some time... She missed him and _now_ … there was...

Judy swallowed. She took her first few steps down the hospital stairs but then stopped.

He probably hadn't meant to reveal his location, had he? He would want to brood by himself like always wouldn't he? She could at least give him _that_ couldn't she?

But there was that question she needed to ask... It made her stomach churn. For all the time she'd spent wondering… Now she had the best opportunity she was going to get. The argument in her head coming down to "will he be mad at me if I go and find him?" The tenuous answer being "no.", he wouldn't be... probably. And if he was, he wouldn't show it. Was that good enough?

 _...Yes, yes it was._

She put her footpaws against the concrete steps, and headed down for the bus station. She forced an expression of confidence. Fake it until you become it Amy Cuddly always said. She was going to go cheer the dang fox up, then there were going to talk.

 _ **You know you lo…**_

On her way out the door she passed by a lone antelope nurse. The nurse gave her a strange look, like a deer in headlights. Judy smiled and kept walking.

"Have a good night, hope you get to go home soon!"

She got no response.

Judy looked around and saw the gazelle _staring_ at her as she was walking away. There was something off about those eyes, they seemed half empty, like there weren't any thoughts passing behind them. She wanted to break the silence and try to connect with the other animal before she left. It was how she reconciled with mammals who creeped her out. All you had to do was learn to see them as another mammal just like you, and then... this time something told her to move.

She quickened her pace and headed down the florally decorated sidewalk towards the bus station. She didn't look over her shoulder until she was inside the little glass box.

Judy half expected to see the gazelle standing somewhere down the sidewalk staring at her, but she wasn't.

She took a deep breath and settled her nerves.

Climbing onto the bench, she sat next to an elderly tiger who was reading the newspaper. A few paces away, a weasel in a brown leather jacket played with an oriental looking ball and cup game. A "Kendama" was it's name if she remembered her Zoogle searches right. She tried to be as cultured as she could.

Closing her eyes she took a deep breath through her nose.

She found herself nodding off just as the bus arrived.

* * *

Tall coconut palms grew up and around flower bouquets and flashing slot machines. The warm oranges contrasted with bright blues giving the place an air of electricity. It sounded like a sports bar during the super bowl, and smelled like a greenkeepers cigarette garden.

Despite living in Zootopia for six months, Judy Hopps had never actually been inside _The Oasis_. It was certainly breathtaking. Massive circular platforms of mosaic carpet connected by stairs reached further and further down towards the center of the foyer.

Of particular interest to Judy was how each lower platform got consecutively wider and wider. The tables, chairs, and dealers got larger and larger, until they were about elephant sized at the bottom. The height differences over compensated for the mammals who resided on each floor, setting a hedgehog at the far edge of the room some ten feet above the giraffes below.

Perhaps even more inclusionary were the pools between each platform accommodating larger and larger aquatic mammals near the center. Bars and casino games were everywhere, of course. Even the pools had tables for hippos and otters to throw dice.

Spacing out, Judy nearly bumped into a beaver waiter as she made her way down the first flight of stairs.

"S-sorry!"

She chuckled nervously. The beaver just gave her the stink eye, but she moved on.

She didn't have to go too far inward to find herself in the company of mammals Nick's size. The ring-shaped platform wasn't especially _wide_ but it's large circumference meant it would take some time to walk the whole thing. The back of a green Hawaiian shirt gave her a lucky break. Nick sat at a table by himself, halfway around the circle. She watched him pick up something and put it on the table.

 _Poker chips._

What looked like a jackal in a suit, laid down some cards.

Judy paced across the room as quick as she could without running. Drawing attention to the fox would stress him out. To be gentle, she had to be inconspicuous. Her stomach started to bubble up when she thought about what she had to say.

Judy stopped when she was a few meters from the table. The dealer was indeed a jackal. She noticed a faint scar line from between the Jackal's eyes down the left side of his muzzle. Her eyes eventually shifted to the red fox's back, which, annoyingly, caused her heart to start beating faster.

"Nick…"

One of the fox's ears perked up, but he didn't turn.

She raised her voice this time.

" _Nick."_

He turned and gave her one of those rare looks of predacious curiosity that was natural in foxes. Eyes open wide, dilated pupils. All mammals had base, instinctual, behaviors that would surface given proper stimulus, but Nick usually kept it under wraps.

 _He's tired._

The fox reined in the expression to something more civilized, but the correction came a little slower than usual. He seemed to be aware of his fumble; she spotted a few 'blush' hairs bristling.

"Carrots?"

"Hey, big guy _…"_

Her feet felt a little heavy.

Nick started.

"How did you… _"_

His eyelids fell really low.

"I forgot to turn off location services again, didn't I?"

Judy interlaced her fingers.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, I was just on my way home, a-and I happened to be by and…"

She took a step backwards. The fox's expression softened at that.

 _Steady._

He spoke in his smooth velvety tone.

"Hold on, Hopps..."

A fox paw patted the stool to his left.

"Please, sit down."

She didn't know what to say, ears folded back, footpaw twisting on the soft carpet.

" _Come on, Carrots_. I'll feel like a jerk if you came all the way out here to sit with me and I made you leave."

She felt like her feet were snap frozen to the ground. No. She pushed towards thawing. This was ridiculous. It didn't need to be this hard.

 _Just tell him!_

Judy bowed her head, plodded over and climbed into the seat. Once she got up, she tried a smile.

"I didn't- I was just on the way ho-"

"Hopps, you're a _terrible_ liar, and I've got the bus routes memorized. Don't even try me."

She blushed, but before she could smack herself, he put his paw on her shoulder.

"I don't mind the company, alright? just please don't try and… you know... correct my behavior."

That left her feeling a little guilty; Did she _really_ try to do anything but look out for him?

The guilt melted away when he pulled her into a close side-by-side embrace. It got to her, with how sudden it was… well, until she saw the fox pull out his phone. She felt his fist on her head.

He snapped a picture of two of them, texted something, and then put the phone away. The next thing she knew, his bad arm was back in the sling and the good one was back to the table. He dropped two chips on the blue felt and the dealer slid him two cards. Ten and a seven.

She wasn't exactly brimming with things to say, but 'happy to be here' was an understatement. The bunny made herself comfortable and watched carefully. Though she was familiar enough with playing cards, she didn't know the specific rules of this game. The dealer had one card face up, and one face down. Nick waved a paw over his cards and the dealer flipped the other card. A jack, and now a six. He gave Nick two more blue chips back.

Judy's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out to find a new Muzzlebook notification.

xXx

 _ **Nick Wilde**_

 _7:48PM - Oasis Hotel & Casino, Sahara Square._

" _Somebody just can't stay away from me."_

 _xXx_

And there was a the picture. She had the most goofy and bewildered expression her face, and the fox was just smiling. He'd put those dumb rabbit ears on top of her head again.

She smiled and elbowed him in the ribs.

He grunted.

" _Easy!_ I took one to the side too, remember?"

"Sorry," she said still grinning.

He had a talent for making her feel at home.

The fox retrieved three of his chips and left the last one on the table. The dealer slid him two more cards, a five and a nine. Nick seemed to consider it carefully, then he tapped the table. The dealer passed him an ace. He grunted.

" _So_ , how does this work?"

He waved his paw and the dealer revealed an eight and a seven. The fox didn't seem too happy.

"I'm not... distracting you, am I?"

The fox licked his chops behind closed lips. She read that as an annoyed 'I'm thinking.' But then he sighed.

"Here."

To her surprise, he picked up two of the red chips and about eight of the blue ones and placed them in the holder in front of her. She pulled her paws away.

"Whoa, hold on, Slick- I don't even know how-"

He just gave her a genuine smile.

"Just take one of these…"

He guided her paw to one of the blue chips. Hesitantly she grabbed it and allowed him to guide her paw back to the table.

The dealer, who had been waiting patiently, placed two cards in front of her: a red five and a black eight. She stared down at them with no clue of what to do. She could feel her nose twitch.

Nick chuckled.

"Hey, they won't bite you, cottontail. I promise."

She managed to conjure up a stiffer expression to give the fox. Of course he just smiled, making her feel more embarrassed.

"Alright, so, blackjack basics: your job is to get a higher hand than _him.._."

He gestured towards the jackal. The fox then pointed at each card.

"You see the numbers on the cards? Each card is worth as many points as the number. Face cards count as ten, and aces count as either ones or elevens."

"Alright... how do I know which one it counts as?"

"Well it's sort of like you can pick, but the dealer's going to count it as whatever helps you the most."

"Wouldn't an eleven always help more?"

"Well, that gets into the namesake of the game. See, if you draw any ten card and an ace, you've got twenty one points and that's called blackjack. It's the highest hand, but if you go _over_ twenty one, you lose."

"So with a five and an eight, I have thirteen points?"

"Uh-huh."

"And I can get more cards?"

"That's the idea. You can either take a hit by just tapping the table or you can double down. Now… you can take as many hits as you want, but you can only double down on your first card and you can't take a hit after that."

"So why would I do the second thing?"

"Well, if you double down, you can double your bet mid hand. I wouldn't recommend it, personally, but some mammals do it… You generally want to hit on fifteen and below, and you want to stand -that means keep what you have- seventeen and above, like so."

The fox waved a paw over his own queen and eight.

"Now if you get a sixteen you're in bad shape either way, and your best bet is to surrender, meaning you forfeit half your bet and pull out."

She tapped her first card.

"So I just tap the table if I want anoth-"

"Yes. Just don't touch the cards."

"Oh. Sorry."

The dealer just looked off to the side in what seemed like a halfway eye roll.

He didn't seem to care that she was still in her police uniform.

He passed her a red seven.

"There you go, Carrots, that's a good hold!"

~x~

As the two of them played over the next half hour, Judy started to warm up to the game. Each time he would laugh or smile, she'd try to brave up and ask, but her tongue would just end up tied. She eventually considered giving up altogether.

She _could_ just… sit at the table and have a nice time couldn't she? But then the pushback came. It came from the part of Judy Hopps that had gotten her through school with an A on every test, the part that pushed her through the Police Academy at the top of her class. She closed her eyes.

 _You are NOT going to be the romantic comedy princess, Judy! You've stewed over this long enough! You yell at the screen when they do this in movies, you know you do! He has said it! He's said it_ _ **out loud. To you.**_ _This is your chance! No-one's saying you have to ask him out,_ _ **today.**_ _But it's now or never breaking the silence. Toughen up, Hopps. Get-it-in-gear!_

A king and an eight, gripped in her bunny digits.

She closed her eyes and felt all the fatigue and anxiousness compound into a rogue wave of anxiety. She prepared her ship to dive right through it. Judy Hopps could to do anything!

" _Hey,_ today. You know, you said… I-I just need to ask."

Nick looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

She took a breath, and felt her nose wiggle. She ignored it.

"So, you said... you loved me?"

The fox's eyes got a little wider. She watched his pupils go to his cards, then to her, and then to the table where they stayed.

"I did… say that, didn't I?"

She leaned her head towards him, and gave a toothy smile, trying to exude some confidence.

"You did say that, yes."

Nick's eyes shifted to the side and he tapped the table. The fox already had a six and a nine. The dealer gave him another card. A seven. That was a bust.

The dealer revealed his king and six before taking Nick's chips and passing them over to Judy. When the fox did not respond she leaned in a little further.

"Nick, we need to talk about this~"

"I um… not here, _please_."

"Come on, it's just you and me."

Nick doubled his bet and placed his chips on the table.

She did the same.

The fox's eyes shifted towards the dealer's as he laid out their cards. He then glanced back at her.

"Nick, he's just a dealer, he doesn't care. _C'mon_ , I thought _I_ was supposed to be the naive one!"

He grumbled a little bit, just barely managing a smirk.

"You wound me so."

He took a hit on his nine and his five. The dealer laid another seven on top.

"Twenty-one!" he cheered.

The dealer's nineteen beat out Judy's sixteen. The jackal slid her chips back over to the fox.

" _Nick,"_ she chided.

"Alright look."

He turned to face her.

"You're my best friend, Carrots, I am not saying anything more, that's that."

She nudged him with her elbow.

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink if you'll talk about it."

He turned back to the table and kept his eyes there.

"I've got money. I'm not an alcoholic."

"I didn't call you an alcoholic! I just want you to talk to me."

His face went down in his paws.

" _Nick."_

He sighed and turned to the jackal.

"There's a big tip in it for you, if you plug your ears."

The jackal shrugged.

"I- read lips, sir."

Nick glanced up and gave the dealer a look.

The mammal grunted.

"I am, deaf... _sir_."

" _Oh..."_ Judy said.

She turned to Nick.

"Sounds like you're in luck, _bashful_."

" _You know_ , that's very insensitive of you, Carrots."

She glanced at the dealer who was looking at the far wall.

"Just start talking."

He took a deep breath, but his eyes stayed on his cards. Silence lasted for about half a minute, paw fidgeting on the table next to his jack and five. He eventually indicated surrender. Her ears started to droop. She was starting to think he was ignoring her like Wolford had Fangmeyer.

"If you want something conventional... you're looking in the wrong place."

Her cheeks warmed up.

"I-I'm not looking for anything…"

That was a lie.

"...I just, want to know how you feel... _partner_."

" _Well_ , it's like I said…"

He was growing hot under the collar. A cocktail waitress came around, and to Judy's surprise he actually grabbed something off the tray. He passed the feline a five.

"You're my best friend, Carrots."

" _Oh no_ , you're not running that one by me, Slick..."

He took a swig.

"...You said it yourself today, 'I lo-'"

"And I meant that!… those feelings aren't mutually exclusive, you know."

She placed a sweaty paw on his shoulder. The dealer put down more cards. A jack of hearts and a six of clubs for Nick, and a five of both diamonds and spades for Judy.

Nick took another sip from the orange cocktail.

"I've already been in three relationships, Judy, I'm just... done with it…"

He tapped the table.

"I said what I said because… you're still… well..."

She quickly waved at the dealer and mouthed to him.

" _I'd like to double down, please."_

The dealer passed them each an extra card.

She watched the fox, but Nick was just staring down at the cards.

"...special. I think you know that… probably."

Judy glanced at the cards.

The dealer had given Judy a queen of hearts, and Nick a four of the same suit, to match his jack. The phrase just rolled through her mind.

"You know what they say about hindsight…"

The dealer pushed them two even stacks of chips.

Seeming almost entranced, Nick picked up his cards. It earned him a scowl from the dealer, but he just pointed to his lips and mouthed the word "tip." The jackal just grunted and looked away.

"So..." he said.

"So…" she repeated back.

"I'm afraid... you know."

Judy felt a chill down her spine.

The fox swallowed.

"Of what?" she asked.

"A lot of things... vanishing, getting shot again, finding out what that note back on Big's tree means… But right now I'm talking about us, Ms. _20/20_ …"

He took another gulp from the cocktail and breathed out, heavy.

"What _about_ us?"

He covered his eyes with his paw, and muttered to himself.

"What have I gotten myself into... you're so stupid, Wilde…"

Judy felt an ache in her chest. Her ears drooped.

"I have been in three relationships, Carrots… I'm in zero now, you can do the math."

She took his paw and tried to pull it away from the table.

He pulled back.

"Please let go."

She released it immediately. A little shakey.

 _Hold it together._

"Were they all that bad?"

Nick hesitated.

It reminded her of what Daryl, one her older brothers, had told her years ago.

" _It's not that easy, Jude. You think you like somebody, but then you get engaged and you sorta start to realize how incompatible you are."_

The dealer reached for her cards.

" _What's worse is when you realise you could've stayed great friends if you hadn't-"_

"No," said Nick, "no, you've got it backwards… not _every_ relationship ended because the other mammal was awful… You saw Doris... she couldn't be mean if she tried… Sure _sometimes_ you realize they're terrible… but you know what _really_ hurts?"

Judy watched the fox hesitantly.

He looked straight ahead. He could see her in his peripheral vision, she was sure of it.

"What?"

He was silent for a moment. Then his muzzle opened, and it hung there.

"When they hold up a mirror... and they show you just how terrible _you_ are."

Judy watched him, she wanted to reach out.

His eyes slowly rolled down to the table.

There it was. She'd been wiggling this tooth for so long. Now it was finally pulled. She honestly hadn't expected to see so many cavities… but that didn't matter.

She took his paw and squeezed it.

"Nick you're not…"

What came next were some of the most painfully awkward expressions she'd ever seen the fox wear.

"When I said that I love…"

He lost it in his throat.

"When I said... what I said… I said it because you _are_ my best friend. You're the best thing I've got… aaand you think I'm worth something. I needed that at the time… I still need that now… and um…"

The poor guy was choking on it.

"I um…"

Elated, she got him first.

"Aww, you big goofball!"

"Hey, what are you doing. _Hey_! Hold on!"

He grunted as she half tackled, half hopped into, his lap, nearly knocking him out of his seat. Judy gave him the tightest embrace she could muster, her cheek pressed against his chest. _Now that face_ she'd seen before. The ticked off, embarrassed face, the _I just got roped into the Emmet Otterton case_ face.

She giggled.

"Go on,"

"My point, is that I have had bad experiences, I don't _date_ anymore."

A chill in her chest. She chuckled anyway.

"Well, that's convenient, because I never asked you out," she joked.

She felt him relax… it was something that hurt far more than she was prepared for it to.

 _H-hold in, Judy._

Whether or not he knew what she was thinking, he took the time to swaddle her figure in his arm. That soothing grip lasted for a good half a minute. Then he spoke in a soft, but definitely annoyed tone of voice.

"Please sit and play your cards, I don't want to get kicked off the table."

She looked up and noticed, for the first time, that the dealer was waiting on them with an impatient frown.

"Oh… sorry." she said in a chipper tone.

The jackal just rolled his eyes and set out the next two cards.

Judy climbed back into her seat and the two of them continued to play a few more hands.

She trembled, inside, at dashed hopes, but… but all the affection he obviously still carried for her... that meant something. _"...because you're still special."_

She could hold onto that, and she could get through this.

As the bunny settled down, she started to notice a pattern with the way the fox played.

His bets... He seemed determined to keep going until all his chips were gone. She started to realized that any effort to play smart was only intended to prolong the game. Each time he watched his chips get pulled away it was with an even stare, he'd go on and play the next hand.

Skill was mitigating losses here, but it wasn't winning. The game was rigged in favor of the dealer. It seemed like a such a strange thing for on ex-conman to be into. He should've been on the other side of the table, doing the rigging.

She had won the last war, why not go two for two.

Judy took a deep breath.

"So, why the casino?"

He just shrugged.

She propped her head up on her paw.

"It doesn't seem like the place to go if you want to be alone."

He tapped the table.

"Who said I wanted to be alone?"

"You implied it."

He raised the cocktail to his lips and took a swig.

A part of her felt guilty, as if she'd caused that.

"I'm trying to beat my record."

She cocked an eyebrow.

"You have a record?"

"One-hundred and forty seven hands off forty dollars. I'm at ninety-eight."

The bunny waved her paw over her cards. She was too low, and Nick had tied with the dealer. That meant they both lost.

"Maybe I'm just too _naive_ to get it, but isn't the point of gambling to quit while you're ahead and, you know… make money?"

He cracked a little smile.

"Only if you're a sucker."

She lowered her brows, straight faced.

" _Well_ … it does work in a few games. You can win long term in poker, and sometimes in sports betting if you're informed, but not blackjack."

The fox tapped the table and received a nine on top of his five and his seven. The dealer slid him chips and took Judy's.

"So then why play it?"

"Because I'm a sucker."

" _Oh please_ , that's rich."

"Hmmn…"

He got dealt a sixteen the next turn, Judy a fourteen by way of two sevens. She placed another stack of chips beside her original bet. The dealer separated her cards.

"Wilde's luck... is what my dad used to call it…"

Nick indicated a surrender to the dealer, and forfeited half his chips.

"He was a gambling addict. I think he made it up to cope with his problem. It's stupid to think there's something to it, but I guess… _sometimes_ I buy into it…"

He took another sip, getting down to standing ice.

"He claimed that whenever something awful would happen, his luck at the casino would get better… I don't let myself get swept up in trying to earn money... but it does seem like I get more hands out of my chips…"

She opened her mouth to reply.

"It's stupid, I know. Like I said, that's why I don't vest anything in it."

"Except for forty dollars?"

"Forty dollars doesn't feel like much when someone's dead."

The words smacked her like a rhino. She swallowed and bounced back.

"...I wasn't going to say it's stupid."

He took his next set of cards.

"Well, you wouldn't have been the first to."

"I just want to know why this is fun to you. C'mon, we already talked about the hard stuff, right?"

"The hard stuff, huh?"

He smiled.

"Is that what that was?"

She smiled back.

"Yeah, it was. Now why does the con-mammal like to throw away money at an overpriced casino?"

"I'll have you know this place used to be very classy, Carrots."

"You're dodging the _question_ ~"

" _No I'm not~_ I used to meet with friends here, good memories and all that..."

"Alright, but why play the tables in the first place, Wilde's luck or no?"

"Because it's interesting."

"Gambling's interesting?"

" _Luck_ is interesting."

" _Ah_ , why's that?"

The dealer gave him another sixteen and his expression got distant. Surprisingly he didn't follow his own sage advice. The fox took another stack of chips and set them beside his first. The dealer raised his eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter how sly you are, or how well you plan… chance always gets to have say."

Nick got his card. It was a three of diamonds. The dealer then revealed a total of eighteen and slid two stacks of chips back towards the fox.

" _So_ … that makes you want to _gamble_?"

"That makes chance fascinating… typically I focus on minimizing it in anything I do, but… sometimes I feel like I just gotta stare it down, you know?…"

He cut her off with a chuckle.

"Listen to me, I sound crazier than a weasel on nip."

She didn't laugh.

"I lived out in bunny burrow, Nick, don't you think I've heard some superstitious stuff before?"

"Fair enough."

He glanced over the balcony at the tables below.

"So you just come here and play cards until you've used up all your chips?"

"Yeah..."

He drummed his fingers on table rim and gave his chips another look.

"And does it make you feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Then I don't see anything stupid about it."

He nodded just slightly.

Judy hesitantly placed a paw on his arm again. He didn't make any moves to pull away, but he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

" _So..._ we talked about me. Now let's talk about what scares you. "

Her ears drooped.

"It doesn't matter what I have to do. I need you to understand, I do my little ritual here... but I'm not putting myself in danger..."

She knew where this was going, and it _did_ need a conclusion.

He placed chips on the table.

"You're playing revolver roulette, Judy. Today, you left the cruiser without your weapon to confront an armed criminal."

"I didn't know he was carrying..."

"Arson is a companion crime, Judy, the danger is implied. You're supposed to know that better than me."

She took a deep breath and put on her oh so tired, tough face.

"You know what, why don't we just cut to it, Nick. You want me to carry my gun. Fine. You want-"

"I want you to carry all of your gear and _use it_."

She sighed through her nose.

"You want me to let you tag along and that's not… that's not something I think you'd want, if our positions were swapped."

Nick didn't say anything, he just looked at his cards, and eventually took a hit.

"It's really... sweet, of you, to want to try and look out for me... But if I were hurt, I know that you would want me to stay safe too."

"You're wrong..."

She looked to him incredulously, but he didn't take his eyes off the table.

"Injured or not, you always look out for your partner... If _your_ being in danger really puts the other mammal in that much danger, you need to take _yourself_ out of danger."

"Nick, I can't."

His eyes shifted further from her.

"Do, you want me to stop being an officer?"

"I didn't say that."

The fox took a breath and started to bounce his knee. There had to be a way to cut down his anxiety, without agreeing to this.

"Bogo will assign me a new partner if I ask him, Nick, just-"

He closed his eyes and finally turned to towards her, head down, side pressed against the table.

"Hopps, you're killing me with this... You know, _somebody else_ had to make me understand this too!"

"You made it through the academy without me, Nick, and you were fine. This shouldn't be bothering you no-."

"Well, _now_ is not _then,_ Carrots!"

He looked up and stared at her with those big green emeralds. They were jittery, occasionally bouncing side to side.

"Nick, come on..."

He raised a finger to quiet her.

"...We're both wrapped up, in this. I'm involved…"

He pointed his finger.

"...you're involved... and somebody's going to try to grab me soon... "

She stared back. Just hearing him say that aloud made her want to scream.

"...I know it, and you know it too. Then there's that note on Big's tree that was left for _you_."

"Let's talk about that! Nick I have notes I can show-"

"No! First we need this settled. We're both at risk here. The safest place for me is with you and vice versa."

"Nick, that's just not true..."

"It is true! We work best _together_! _Please_ , just this once, listen to me and don't be stubborn!"

 _ **...now stop being so damn hard headed!**_

Her vision started to blur.

"We can't keep waiting for bad luck to come to us. We have to take this investigation into our own hands and _figure it out_... We're the best, _right_? As much as Buffalo Butt hates to admit it. It's not just you, it's _us_. Where would Zootopia be without the Wilde-Hopps duo, huh?"

She took a deep breath. He looked like a red and green mosaic through those tears. She wanted to see that everyday, but if he…

"Bellwether didn't have a chance, right? And I had no training then…"

He gestured to his shoulder.

"I may be hurt now, but I'm also fully schooled, right? I know what to look out for, I know how to be careful..."

The bunny looked down and bit her lip. She hit, got a king, and busted.

This was the worst thing he'd ever done to her, and by trying to stop it she was making it worse.

"Judy, c'mon."

She breathed hard through her nose and put out another blue chip.

" _Hey_ …" he said

He reached out his good arm.

"Alright!"

He jolted.

Her breathing started to teeter.

"Alright, we can… Y-you don't have to make me cry again."

That hurt him like a knife. She could see "guilt" written all over his face. His ears folded back, but his expression stayed stiff.

"We..." she started, "...we can give it a shot..."

She had barely managed to bottle up her fear thus far, and Nick just kept coming at the glassware with a hammer. Maybe the best course _was_ just to let him have it. She sucked air in through her twitching nose.

"But if you end up worse than hurt..."

Her voice started to crack.

"I will never forgive you, ever. You hear me, Nicholas Wilde? Neve-"

"I hear you."

He lowered his voice.

" _I hear you_ … _Thank you_ … There's nothing-… nothing in the world I can give, to pay you back for that. Thank you. I promise..."

He placed his paw on her back.

"...I promise it'll be alright."

She leaned her side into him and he held her with that good arm. She couldn't stop herself from sniffling.

"I'm sorry," she grumbled.

That arm got a little tighter.

"You _know_ apologizing for it doesn't make either one of us feel better."

"S-sorry."

He let out a little sigh, but she knew it was benign one.

Her head pressed against him. Listened to the fox breath in and out, it felt a little slower than usual, but then it could have been the alcohol. Drinking was so rare for him. She hoped it wouldn't interact with his medication.

"So what's the plan, bounce house?"

She chuckled through the sniffling.

"Bounce-house?"

"Yeah... that one's a miss."

He smiled.

"...I must be drunk already. I better stop before I start spilling secrets, I've been told I _am_ a gossip."

He pushed the glass away with one extended claw.

The dealer gave him a murderous glare as the glass slid around the felt rim of the table, coming dangerously close to spilling into the play zone.

Judy spotted another cocktail waitress making her rounds nearby.

"Oh."

She pulled out of his grasp excitedly.

"...we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"Don't even think about it, wise girl. Unless you want to hold the barf bag."

He looked at her with that precious _stupid_ grin.

"So, what's this about a plan?" she asked.

"Well, if I'm going to ride with you on regular basis, we need to find a way to get it past Bonehead."

"Do we _need_ to talk about it right now?"

"Well, _no._ But these chips won't last forever, darlin."

She grumbled good naturedly and wiped her eyes.

"Why do I let you make me into such a rule breaker..."

"You've been breaking them since before I got there, fuzzy bunny, don't blame it on me."

"I'm not going to validate that lie with a response."

" _Sure_."

Judy put three more chips onto the table. It cut some of the agitation out of the dealer's expression. He placed a two and a three in front of her.

"We can meet at the coffee shop, I guess, but that'll only work if I've got something to check out, we need a lead first."

She tapped the table.

"Bogo still moving you into full time detective mode?"

"Looks like it, patrol shifts would have made it easier."

The fox nodded.

"So step one is getting a fresh lead. Until then you'll be at the station, meaning I've got nothing to worry about."

"And you'll be at home, where I don't have to worry about you, _right?_ "

"Actually, I've got a lead of my own to nail down."

"Nick! The only way this deal is going to fly is if you _stay out_ of trouble without _me!_ "

" _Easy_ don't stress. I'm just taking a friend out to lunch."

She let some of the tension go, exhaling through her nose.

"...I've been chatting with him over Muzzlebook and he thinks he's got a few things to say about one of the Vanisher victims. It's nothing nuts."

"Really? How much do you think he knows?"

"That's the point of going to find out, isn't it?"

"Well, I bet Bogo wouldn't mind if we work together on _that_ , considering it's your friend, what's he going to-"

The fox held up his paw.

She lowered her ears just slightly.

"The thing is, he's not really good around cops... He's one of _my_ friends, get it?"

Judy diverted her eyes back to the table. She didn't hate the idea, but...

"He's a _little_ bit on the paranoid side. Won't even talk to me over text about this. So, we'll go somewhere safe, eat, I'll see how he's doing, and we'll talk. You shouldn't have to worry."

Before she could reply, he looked to her and sighed.

"Actually, you know what, look… That's my plan, but in the spirit of partnership, I leave it up to you, Carrots."

She looked back up, surprised.

Nick collected the chips from his latest win, but didn't place anything else out.

"So is this a go, or a no-go, _detective_?"

She knew that ultimately, he was right, this was the only sure way. Solve the case, keep the city safe. That was her job, and as much as she had resented it, hated it, and fought against it since the shooting, it was Nick's job too. She'd given him the application, and pinned the badge on him herself.

Leaving this up to her was a nice gesture, but there was really only one option. It was time to treat him like her partner again.

He was watching, waiting for a cue.

She smiled, and rubbed her eyes one more time.

"Alright, make sure you take notes, Slick. I don't want to hear 'I forgot' as an excuse."

That seemed to take some weight off his shoulders.

"Well, that was almost witty."

He tapped her on the nose, leaving her to cover it with her paw.

"But I'll do it by the books, Carrots, don't worry… That out of the way, though, I have _one more thing to ask you_."

He turned those cold serious eyes on her again. They diverted suddenly, up and to the left, but he blinked and they were back on her again.

"What's... that?"

Nick smiled.

"The Harvest festival starts _tomorrow~_ did you want to go?"

Her nose started wiggling again. She was tired of trying to control it. She chuckled.

"So now _you're_ asking _me_ on a date."

His fur bristled.

"I'm asking my friend to schedule a date, on which she will go… _hang_ out with me. I guess you can make of that what you will."

She gave him a half frown.

" _I_ was actually hoping we could watch a movie at your place. Maybe Episode Five? I really need to relax after work tomorrow. The Festival _does_ last three days."

"I am uh… busy on the last day, _but..._ "

" _We can go on Sunday_ ~" she said.

He nodded, but then looked over the balcony again.

She added another little chuckle to her voice to sound casual.

"What do you keep looking at?"

She was really quite curious.

"You sure you wanna know?"

He gave her another glare, but she wasn't falling for it again.

"You _really_ are drunk, aren't you?"

"Well,"

He erected a finger

"I am a _little_ tipsy."

She folded her arms and smiled good naturedly.

"Uh-huh."

"Here, look, just stand up."

He nodded his head to the side.

She pushed her feet into the black seat cushion and hoisted her gaze over the balcony.

The festive pit of mammals grew slightly louder. Nick pointed to the source of the noise, one level down. It was a table surrounded by several jeering and laughing mammals. At its head stood a lynx dressed in a black white and red tie-dye button up shirt. He was shadowed by a particularly dark and barrel-chested panther.

"You see those two there?"

"Yeah..."

" _Well_ , the short one is cheating his butt off... I've been watching him for the last hour and he just keeps getting bolder with it."

She folded her ears back.

"Really? How do you know?"

" _Well,_ he's winning, for starters."

"Oh har har."

"I'm serious, Carrots."

"You know, it's not that I _doubt your credentials at cheating,_ but how do you _really_ know he is?"

"Because he's winning _too much._ Nobody shoots dice well enough to win eighty percent of throws, country girl."

" _Oh_ … eighty's pretty high."

He nodded.

"Eighty's _pretty_ high… basic rules of Craps say you've got to hit the back edge of the table on each throw for it to count, and they design the backs of those tables with little diamond shaped ridges so it's virtually impossible to predict the dice after they hit. Except he's doing that, somehow. _And_ on top of that, in craps, the players can work together, so if he's winning, that whole crowd is practically robbing the bank."

"So we need to stop him then!"

He put a paw on top of her head, and chuckled.

" _Easy_ , Wonder-Cop. You know It's not like this place doesn't rob about a million bucks a day, too."

Her face got a little shorter.

"My point is, let _them_ handle their business. If I know old Pink -and I do know the old boar- that mammal in the suit right there, see him."

The fox pointed out a white tailed deer in a suit, head held high.

"He's _just_ about to walk up and give muscles there a comp. I'll bet you my hide that it's gonna be credit at the bar."

The waiter-looking mammal walked up exactly as Nick said and whispered something to the panther. The black feline turned and said something back to the lynx, but his smaller companion just waved a paw. With that, the panther turned and walked away from the table.

Nick put his elbow against the blackjack table and rested his head on his fist.

"And there he goes, played like a sitar."

"I'm… not sure I follow."

" _Well_ , plenty of big shot wannabes try bringing in muscle to sweat the dealer. Only, they never seem to figure out that the guys at the table are _always_ sending signals to the floor manager. They're not going to confront cheaters and card counters _themselves_. And that goes double when Pink's running the show."

The fox pointed one digit towards two grizzly looking guards making their way across the room. There was an actual bear, and a lion who looked like he was trying to play the part.

"Now, Willis Pink is the pit boss around here. I'm not too friendly with him, _but_ I've been around here long enough to know how he runs his floor. He's a really crafty guy, knows just how to corner his..."

The fox practically hiccupped

She looked at him with a smile, one he seemed particularly grateful for.

"Lack of a better word?"

" _Uh-huh_. See, he just separated the bodyguard, and now those two are going to walk up to the kitty…"

" _Nick!"_

"...and tell him he's no longer allowed to play. If he thinks about pitching a fit, his little bouncer being missing is going to make him think twice."

"That seems... a little shady..."

" _Shady and perfectly legal_ , just the way Pink likes it…"

Judy sat back down, and for a moment she hesitated. Nick was putting down his next bet.

 _Do the right thing Judy._

She hopped down to the floor.

"Where are you going?"

"To go help."

"Carrots, I'm telling you it's taken care of, just let it-."

"I'm just going to watch, and I'll be right there in case someone needs help, okay!"

Judy just turned and headed for the nearest staircase down. She took a deep breath and heard Nick sigh behind her. She wasn't thrilled about the prospect about getting hit in her sore chest either, but it was her job to maintain order and fairness whenever trouble arose. She had to suck it up.

Her eyes stayed on the lynx between the balcony posts as she made her way around to the stairs. The crowd of gamblers cheered again as he rolled.

One of the agitated dealers then starting passing chips around to each player.

Each one of gamblers then uttered something aloud. She couldn't make it out until one of the drunks, a Capybara, yelled it.

"Pass!"

It looked like they were each being given a chance to hold the dice, but each mammal declined until it got back to the lynx.

Judy headed down around the stairs, and stopped a couple of tables away. Eyes were moving towards the muscular carnivores marching around the other side of the gambling floor. Some of the players at the lynx's table seemed to grow nervous as they picked up what was going on.

The lynx himself seemed oblivious, _at first_. But when the bear, who was nearly three times his size, put his paw out, as if to place it on his shoulder, the lynx raised an arm.

"Hands off, if you please, Charlie."

Judy perked her ears and stepped a little closer to the action.

The bear hesitated for a moment, but then knelt over.

"My apologies sir, the manager has asked you to leave the casino floor."

Most of the mammals made their way from the table quietly, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the bouncers. The capybara however threw a slurred line of curses at the bear. The lynx sighed, as his shoulders fell.

"So'as soon as weh start winnin'," the capybara yelled, "that's when you gotta come a _kill_ the party, eh!? Piss-floatin teddy bear…"

The lion crossed his arms.

"Drunkenness is also a good way to get kicked off the floor, _sir_."

The large rodent grunted and waved a paw as he stumbled away cradling his chips.

"Sir, this this table will be investigated," said the bear "but I'm afraid that in the meantime you will not be allowed to gamble at the Oasis. You are still free to enjoy the rest of the hotel's amenities, and all winnings are yours to keep. But if, if you will just come with us, please."

"Of course, of course." "

The lynx calmly turned and faced the bouncers.

I wouldn't want to cause any trouble."

"Very good," said the bear, "right this way."

The bear started to lead the way, and the comparatively small mammal took a few steps along with him… but then he stopped.

Judy's narrowed her eyes. And here was trouble. She had just enough left in her, she figured, to do this last bit of police work.

The bear turned and gave the lynx an even stare.

"One second, Charley," the lynx said, "I've just got one question, real quick, I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

The lion folded his arms and glared at the lynx.

"What?" the bear asked.

"What if I _don't want_ to go?"

"Pardon me?" asked the lion.

The lynx started to laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just asking, you know- what _on earth_ , are you going to do, if I _don't_ comply?"

That earned the lynx another set of stares from gamblers at surrounding tables. He seemed to drink up the attention.

The lion started to let out a low rumble.

"Now you listen to me, wise guy-"

"Herold!" shouted the bear.

The lion quieted.

"Sir, don't make this-."

Judy interjected.

"Excuse me!"

She pulled the attention of the two bouncers, but kept her eyes on the lynx. She trotted up from the side.

"Judy Hopps, ZPD, is there a problem here?"

Both of the bouncers looked down at her. The lion rolled his eyes, but the bear gave her a respectful nod. They both looked back to the tie-dyed lynx.

"That's a good question," said the bear, "do we have a problem, sir?"

The lynx smiled in a way that was not _too_ dissimilar from the way Nick often would; it was an expression that read: 'you can't touch me, stupid, so why even try?' Judy watched him carefully for any sudden moves.

The lynx licked his chops and dropped into a slouch.

"Is there a problem? Yeah, there is. There's this _guy_ I know, right? He's a real prick. Name's Thomas Granger, he's got this really sweet tie-dye shirt and a big shit-eating smile."

The lion started to growl menacingly.

"...Said he's not taking another damn step until he breaks ten thousand."

"Alright smart ass!"

The lion snatched at the lynx, but Granger side-stepped and hooked his heel, hard, into the back of the lion's knee.

Judy's stepped back and reached for her belt as the large bouncer came crashing to the floor. Adrenaline punched her in the chest. She snatched the taser

"Stop!" she yelled, "hands up!"

But the lynx neither ran, nor complied, he just positioned himself so the lion was between himself and the bear. The grizzly tried to step over, but the lion snapped from his daze and lurched up with a snarl. The lion's back hit the bear in the crotch and they both fell to the floor..

The lynx took a sudden step back.

Judy in a charge towards him, but then the lynx took a firm stance.

"Jeez, who hires the help around-?"

Judy hopped left to right and threw a jab, taser-head up, towards Granger. Her weapon hit open air and the lynx smiled. She jolted, and whipped the butt of the weapon back down to close the gap, but that missed too. The lynx stepped back and shoved his pawss into his pockets.

"C'mon sweetpea, I ain't got time to dance right now…"

Her eyes flicked over him, then she went in again, with every ounce of focus poured in. Forearm forwards, center of mass low.

" _...and what did we learn from this exercise, cadets!?"_

 _Crude and rash. But what always works?_

Prison yard rush. She lunged, reached for Granger's shirt. He grabbed the arm. _Perfect._ She drove the taser up, but… nothing. It glided through air and suddenly she felt her wrist being ripped up and twisted. A sudden blast of pain, his open palm crashed into her chest.

She hit the floor with a yelp.

Judy gritted her teeth, panicking momentarily. She threw herself to the side to avoid a follow-up blow, but nothing came.

"I do know the waltz, _sweetheart_ , but maybe some other time. Right now I've got money to make, world to save, like a baller... "

His voice got further from her. He was... walking away.

Judy took a few shallow breaths.

"Hey buddy, pass me the dice, will you? … what? C'mon you look like you've seen a ghost… where you goin!? Can't play without the stick…"

Judy pushed herself up and staggered to her feet. She heard a roar as the enraged lion charged, the lynx now standing _on top_ of the Craps table.

Deciding to support the bouncer, Judy ran in behind him. Granger was facing away from his larger assailant, out towards the crowd. He looked like he was about to get glomped, but then the he did something that blew her mind. Just as the lion was about to hit the table, Granger backflipped and landed with one foot on the lions _head_.

"Oh alright, beautiful..."

Granger kicked backwards off the larger feline's head, the bouncer's face crashing into the felt table edge. Judy tried to skid to a stop, but in one fluid motion the lynx landed in front, took her by both wrists, and swung her around.

"Just one dance."

A stab from the felines thumb under wrist made her lose grip on the taser. He then released her and sent her, first flying, and then tumbling across the floor. The taser skidded off to the side.

"...First bunny cop," he said, "not as dexterous as I thought."

The bear took a couple of steps back.

"...but then, who can compete with me?"

"Boss, something fishy's goin' on..."

Granger smiled. He seemed to perversely enjoy all the commotion he was creating. He had the whole place in a stir, from the elephants in the pit, to the otters in the higher pools peaking over the edges. Mammals lost focus on their games and focused on _his_ spectacle.

"I can see it all, baby!" he yelled, "God almighty I can see it all. In all directions all at once! I'm unstoppable! Now..."

He turned a climbed up onto the lower balcony, facing the center.

"Does anybody else want to challenge my miracle!? _Anybody else_ care for a dan-"

A pop.

Two shimmering wires shot past Granger. It was off to the right; a miss characterized by a righty shooting with their left paw. For the first time Granger acted startled. He jumped off the balcony like the wires carried the plague.

Judy glanced back at the higher balcony to see Nick holding the taser, teeth bared.

"What!? _"_ Granger yelled, "Who, how the HELL!?"

He held a murderous glare on Nick.

"Why can't I see _you!?_ "

The lynx dropped from the lower balcony ran and jumped onto a table closer to Nick's balcony.

Judy pushed herself back up and searched frantically for her taser. She spotted it beneath a nearby blackjack table, far out of reach. She went for it as quietly as she could. With the way the lynx moved, she didn't doubt he could climb up the higher balcony in a matter of seconds.

 _Hold on, Nick._

"Sir," said the bear "we've called the police, I suggest you sit down and remain calm!"

"TO HELL WITH YOU! He's defying the rule, i-it's not working!"

Five more meters, three, two, one.

Judy grabbed the taser and turned.

Granger was off the table stalking closer and closer towards Nick's balcony.

Judy watched Nick start to back away, but then his eyes flicked towards her. He gave her a slight nod and a look towards Granger.

Prepared, Judy stepped out from behind the table but Granger started to turn.

"You want to know why!?" Nick shouted.

The lynx growled, and twisted back.

"...It's because…"

She saw the fox rifling for the words.

"... _you're_ not complete!"

"What!?... Did _he_ send you without telling me!"

Nick started to back away again, but he maintained a degree of composure.

"Of course he did! Did you _really_ think he'd send you by yourself!?"

Before his face disappeared behind the balcony Nick shot her a big 'move it, Hopps' glance.

Judy went to one knee and readied her taser.

"I don't need to be babysat, damn it! Now tell me..."

The lynx grabbed the balcony.

"Why don't you register!?"

 _Thank you for the opening, Officer Wilde._

Judy steadied herself.

 _One shot Judy, don't miss..._

He started to pull himself up and… bingo, all four paws occupied.

 _Pop._

The barbs whipped through the air. Granger jerked before they hit, but he was too slow. They dug into his back, he seized, and he dropped to the floor. The gun clicked off in her paw, forty seconds of juice on the extended range models.

Judy looked over to the bear.

"Hey! You, catch!"

She pulled the handcuffs from her belt and tossed them. The grizzly caught them, surprised.

"I-I've already got a pair of-"

"Well, tie his legs! Go!"

The large bear moved quickly and placed a careful knee on the lynx. He clearly didn't want to get shocked himself.

"Come back you rut!" a voice yelled.

Her ear swiveled to the left. There was a snarl.

"Carrots!"

To her left, the panther from before was barreling across the room. She looked back to the lynx. First set of cuffs on, second… good! She, squeezed a button, and detached the wires. She gripped the taser hand to hand style. Her springy legs were ready… something echoed in her memory.

The fiery jolt of taking a muffled gunshot to the chest, and landing flat on her ass.

" _Then why-"_

The fox over the lunch table.

 _ **... Because I'm worried sick about you!"**_

Judy snapped back to reality and broke off to the right, diving beneath a table. The panther tried to grapple but he was much slower than Granger. Bigger, more dangerous, but slower. She weaved from that table to the next one. After that her objective was a straight shot.

 _Head for the bigger mammal!_

She realized what she was doing. _She_ didn't care if she got hurt in the line of duty, but her partner would. This was for him.

"Head's up!" she yelled.

Judy dashed across the floor towards the bear, the panther in hot pursuit. She heard the cat snarl, but the bear turned and raised one of his massive paws. She slid passed on her haunches and heard a colossal thud, then something hit the floor, _hard._

Taking a few heavy breaths Judy turned and stood up.

The panther was laid out on ground holding his chest and wheezing.

The grizzly bear was panting, himself.

"Sorry, I think I may have hit him… a little hard."

It suddenly struck her, just how quiet it now was, the crowds were thinning, and the animals who were still here looked on like deer in headlights. Judy looked to the right and saw a boar with a cane approaching, flanked on either side by four more bouncers. The old scrofa, which she could only assume to be Mr. Pink, was just shaking his head as he made his way over to Thomas Granger.

"...And here I try to keep things so civil…"

It instantly struck her how similar the boar's voice was to Mr. Big's. It was high pitched, and shrill, but then Pink's sounded like it was the result of damage rather than simple small vocal chords.

One of the four bouncers, a rhinoceros headed straight over to the panther cat. A wolf followed him close behind and revealed another pair of handcuffs. The panther started to stir.

"Doraleous," said the boar.

The Rhino gently placed a foot on the panther's back, which, with a little pressure caused him to still.

"Don't make me step harder, brother," said the rhino.

The panther resorted to growling, but the wolf put a knee on the panther's shoulders and went to work with the cuffs, anyway. Judy found herself wondering briefly why bouncers were carrying cuffs. "Shady but technically legal", if the fox's previous statement was any indication. She'd be cracking open a legal book tonight, she felt like she was supposed to know.

The horse looked over to the lion cupping his face.

"What'sa matter, Herald? get beat up by a kitten?"

"Shut the fuck up Donny, I think I lost a tooth…"

"Dude… for real?"

"Boys!" the boar yelled, " _Be_ _professional._ "

"Sorry, sir."

Pink started hobbling over towards Granger, giving him a deadly glare.

A paw landed on Judy's shoulder. She turned with a start, but it was Nick. He smiled.

"Hey-"

"You're all screwed!" the lynx screamed.

They all turned towards the boar standing over double-bound lynx. Granger looked even more manic than he had before as he struggled against the steel restraints. He started to laugh.

"The mammals in black! They'll be coming!"

The lynx strained harder against the cuffs as he screamed.

"...you can't fight 'em without me! They'll take you one by one in the night! I've seen the-"

The boar jammed his cane into the Lynx's back, turning his tirade to a pained snarl. Judy flinched. Pink spoke with reserved venom.

"That's quite enough out of you, son. You know you're scaring all these nice mammals. "

The boar looked towards the center of his casino.

"They all came here to have a good time, and me, I keep them happy by weeding out the snakes. You got a little greedy, but then I expect that. Some people do, the excitement gets to their head, we all understand… But imagine how I feel when I hear there's some little grass-worm kicking up other mammal's fun, and turning _my_ floor into a gymnast event."

The lynx half snarled, half laughed, but pink pressed harder until the lynx went quiet. After five seconds of solid silence he moved his mahogany stick and turned towards Judy. She kept her back straight despite despite the shock going down her spine.

" _Miss Hopps,_ " he said.

His face softened disturbingly quickly.

"I am so sorry you had to become involved with this. I presume you were hear to have a good time yourself."

"Oh I-"

"I've taken the liberty of calling for a few more of your colleagues. I hope that's okay."

He called the police? Calling for backup was something _she_ should have done in hindsight…

"Of course, Mr…"

"Willis Pink. Can I get you anything, Officer? You must understand, I am the host, and I have done a terrible job keeping my house in order, I am terribly sorry. If there is anything I can get you, please do ask."

What angle was he working? Was he afraid of getting in trouble for something, or was this just his personality.

"Oh no that's quite alright-"

"A Red Bull wouldn't hurt," said the fox

She looked over her shoulder and gave him a stiff glare. Unphased as usual.

"Oh, mister Wilde, I do believe the last time we talked… well, Déjà vu, isn't it?"

Nick glanced at her and chuckled nervously.

"I don't believe there were any handcuffs involved."

"No… just a fox drunk, thrown out on the pavement."

Judy's looked up at him again.

Drunk Nick. It was starting to sound like a trend. It seemed so unlike him, but then what did she know?

The fox placed a paw on top of her head. It was a comforting gesture at just the right time, he stroked back and forth between her ears.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing we haven't talked in awhile, huh?."

The boar chuckled a bit himself.

"...So he's with you, eh? Foxy shaped up and got a real job I heard."

"Yeah… seriously though, I do need something to pick me up."

~x~

It took the two officers from the ninth precinct roughly ten minutes to show up and properly apprehend the suspects. By that time the two had traded in their chips and were just about to head out the door.

Judy had her phone.

"So," she said "I typed something up from memory, but... do you have any idea what he was yelling about?"

The fox rolled his eyes up thoughtfully.

"Nope. I was just trying to keep him busy. He sounded like a loon to me."

"Some of it sounded like evidence."

"Ah, but it's only evidence if he's not crazy- hang on."

She raised an eyebrow, as he started digging through his pockets.

"Crap, I don't have my phone."

"Lose your head if it wasn't attached?"

He raised a finger.

" _Ah-hah_ , good memory… But something like that, yeah."

He turned around and started scanning the floor.

"Now that I think of it, did you actually tip the dealer like you said you would?"

He sighed grumbled something.

"Tell you what, Slick, since you've done so much today… _All things considered..._ I'll go settle up. You look for your phone."

He opened his mouth as if he was going to protest.

She flashed him her winnings.

"No buts. It's your money anyway, I'm just going to make sure you keep your word."

He exhaled through his nose.

" _Oh alright_ , I suppose I can let you pay my tab, just this once... but you stay away from my bills at the end of the month you greedy bunny."

With a brief chuckle she departed.

By the time she got to their table the dealer from before was already settling in with a new client. He and the armadillo looked up. She handed the Jackal a total of fifty dollars slipping a few fives from her wallet. His eyes lit up.

"Here," she said quietly, "A gift from the fox."

The small mammal nodded and took the cash, but then his eyes seemed to open wider, he reached for something beneath the table and then handed it to Judy. Nick's cell phone.

" _Oooh,_ there it is. Thank you!"

She took the phone and started to skip back towards the fox, he was talking to a floor manager, but then she stopped. His phone hadn't gone to sleep and she'd just so happened to have opened the messages app by accident. He was probably one of those mammals who set their phone not to turn off by itself... This was wrong, she knew, but honestly he would have done the exact same thing to her wouldn't he?

 _Just a peak._

The latest Conversation was with Fangmeyer.

xXx

"Oh, and Thanks for getting my taser for me. Feel much better with it."

 **DF:** "Just don't take mine again you, kelpto."

"I got it, I got it."

 **DF:** "So, you sure you're still up for doing the surprise thing on Monday?"

"Yeah, definitely. I'm actually starting to think the bunny's forgotten her own Birthday."

xXx

She stared down at the screen.

Her birthday… she hadn't thought about that in a while. With over 275 brothers and sisters plus all the other immediate family, it was someone's birthday almost every week. You learned not to think too much about it. Except Nick seemed to think it was special.

He had said he was _busy_ on Monday. A big sloppy serving of guilt plopped down over her shoulders.

xXx

 **DF:** "Ha! Figure out anything for a present yet?"

"I think I have an idea, one of those gifts that keeps on giving kind of things."

 **DF:** "Like what?"

"It's a surprise for everybody. I'll still buy her something gaudy too, but the big thing is my secret. I'm sure she'll like it.

 **DF:** "You're no fun, c'mon spill the slop."

"Nope."

 **DF:** "Well what are you going to _buy_ her?"

"I don't know. Still need to shop around some more, got distracted with work today, got more 'work' tomorrow."

 **DF:** "Bogo is going to fry you if he finds out you're flashing a badge with that shoulder."  
"Heard that twenty times today, you know"

xXx

She jerked as a paw suddenly snatched the phone out of her paws. And there was Nick, steaming. She pulled her paws away. Those big green eyes hadn't looked so... _disappointed_ in her since…

Tears threatened to well up, but she forced them down. This wasn't near as bad as the press conference.

" _Ohh…_ I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"That depends on how much you read."

"Well... I remember my birthday now?"

She chuckled nervously.

And _that,_ was the wrong answer.

Judy boarded the bus with the fox in silence. To her displeasure he didn't say anything for the first ten minutes of their ride home, but at least… at least he sat beside her.

The bunny occupied herself by checking her Muzzlebook messages.

xXx

 _ **Nick Wilde**_

 _7:48PM - Oasis Hotel & Casino, Sahara Square._

" _Somebody just can't stay away from me."_

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer**_ _likes this._

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer:**_ _Someone's doing better! He said he likes this too._

 _ **Joseph Anderson:**_ _Aww._

 _ **Joseph Anderson:**_ _Seriously, kiss on the forehead never hurt anyone._

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer:**_ _Fuck off, asshat!_

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer:**_ _Sorry, he took my phone._

 _ **Joseph Anderson:**_ _I will get you flowers Wolford. They will be blue._

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer:**_ _He says 'okay'._

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer:**_ _What am I supposed to do with flowers?_

 _ **Dallas Fangmeyer:**_ _Took my phone again._

 _ **Joseph Anderson: "**_ _These are just flowers, berries will come soon."_

xXx

Judy smiled. Then fast as a frigate bird, Nick ripped the phone from her paws.

Her ears shot up.

"Hey!"

Nick's lips didn't form a smile. She went to snatch it back but… this was her comeuppance, wasn't it?

The fox slid a finger over her phone. He was going to go through stuff. It was all the stuff you didn't think about until someone had your phone in their hand. Her heart started to pound.

"Nick… _please, I'm sorry."_

She didn't know how to get it away from him. She didn't want to make him mad but…

"Nick it's not funny, give it to me!"

She grabbed ahold of his arm but he pulled back. He was on the FurTube app.

"Hold on... I saw this thing on television last night..."

There wasn't much emotion in his voice. He kept thumbing through stuff.

 _Oh God please don't click on history._

She pulled on him again, but ultimately buried her face in his forearm, embarrassed. After all they had talked about, she did _not_ want him to see what she entertained herself with on lonely nights at home.

"Here, look!"

She blinked.

She let go of his arm and he handed her back her phone. He was smiling now… it _was_ with a touch more enthusiasm than seemed normal. She watched him for a moment. The fox seemed to realise his smile had gone from 'smug' to 'kit in a candy store.' He fixed that quickly, but then his paws seemed to get a little too jittery.

Reluctantly Judy plugged earbuds into her phone, hooked one into her ear and pressed play.

 _Practical joke incoming._

She took a deep breath through her nose.

 _You deserve it too_.

Well, it was better than him going through her _personal_ things. From this point forward she was clearing her history every-single-day.

A video of a fast moving car vehicle appeared on screen. Her eyes refocused. The sleek black vehicle was tearing down an empty desert road. Judy recognized it as one of the newer models of BFW.

She looked over to him hesitantly.

"It just looks like a car commercial, Nick, do I need to watch the whole-"

"Yeah. Watch and do what it tells you."

The screen suddenly switched to a strange black and white image.

"Now," the video said, "Focus on these four dots in the center for thirty seconds and see if you can identify which is the new 2017 BFW 2 Series."

She glanced over at the fox.

Nick gestured insistently at the phone.

"Just watch Carrots, my stop's coming up."

"Hmm," she grumbled.

The fox seemed to deflate a little.

She sighed and stared at the small specs on the screen. The bright parts of the image started to flash black to white. It got annoying quickly, but she decided to flatter her best friend by honestly staring at the screen for nearly the full thirty seconds.

The bus's brakes started screeching as the driver ground it to a halt.

"Haven't figured it out yet?" the commercial asked, "Close your eyes."

Judy looked over to Nick but the fox just rolled his wrist impatiently.

Judy closed her eyes. And there it was. To her surprise she saw the car as clear as day, the image burned into the back of her-

Then, something soft pressed into her forehead…a little bit of moisture. She felt a hot puff of breath from his nose. Frozen like Han Solo in a carbonite bath, and it took her a whole six seconds to break free. She opened her eyes to find the fox pulling away with a smirk.

Before she could say _anything_ , he was down the aisle and off the bus. He crossed the street, the bus door closed, and with a blast of air they were off again. She stared, mouth gaping, out the window at him. He just winked as the bus pulled away, hands shoved in his pockets.

Some time later… maybe five whole minutes, she broke from the trance and picked her phone up out of her lap.

xXx

' _What the heck was that!?'_

' _ **NW:**_ _Haha, that was a friend kiss.'_

' _There's no such thing!'_

' _ **NW:**_ _Sure there is! You uninspired country folk. Welcome to the city!"_

' _You WERE asking me on a date!"_

' _ **NW:**_ _Now don't go and flatter yourself too much, Carrots.'_

' _Nicholas Wilde what is wrong with you!?'_

' _ **NW:**_ _C u tomarrow~'_

* * *

 ** _You may have noticed this chapter has been updated recently o.o . Well that's because I'm changin' my future plans for how Nick and Judy's relationship is going to play out, and I needed to have it foreshadowed correctly. There are about 7 chapters all in the oven right now. Expect regular updates to return early next year. I'm also cookin' up something special that'll hopefully see the light of day sooner. Lookout for a one shot._**


	11. On Hiatus Pt2 (Good News)

**Update 2: I'm still cooking stuff up so don't frett. The Problem with the half-baked central plot has been resolved to a large degree. I've found a central theme to focus on (alongside the romance ofcourse!), and I've got a new main villain. Bad guy, unpleasant past and his goals, well who can say if the ends will justify his vile means. Who can say his ends will even come to their expected fruition? We'll see.**

 **In other news, Chapters 11 and 12 are being written simultaneously alongside each other as we speak, and I'm generally trying to hold myself to writing 600 words a day from this point forwards. With some advice from a fellow writer I've adopted a new system for getting stuff done. I must confess things will remain quiet around here for a little while longer. It's been suggested to me to build up a 3 chapter buffer between writing and posting, that way when things start rolling again, my posts will be much more consistent and I can have more time to consider edits and polishing.**

 **Last of all I thought I'd let you guys know that I have a Pat-reon (remove the dash) now. If you'd like to support me I will be sortof providing a link below (You'll have to remove the spaces and copy-paste it into your URL box, as the FanFiction website is designed to shoot down URLs, and even the word Pat-reon, on sight. Part of why I'm working on moving to Archive of our own [don't worry I'll post in both places]). I obviously can't blame you if you'd rather wait for things to get rolling again before you pledge your support, but I _will_ say that one of the reward tiers for supporting me is that ****you can read stuff early before it goes through the 3 chapter buffer** **. Just bare in mind that those chapters could always change before they get posted.**

 **www. pat reon (period) com (slash) JackShayuWalker**

 **I'll see you around folks, once things get rolling again it's going to be big, have no doubt. I can't wait for you to see! :)**


	12. Chapter 11: Begining of the End

**So, here's the deal friends of firends! I'm ah... doing a reboot. This fanfiction has been the longest and perhaps the most rewarding thing I have written, and I've learned a lot from it. The thing is, while I think it's been an excellent exercise in complex plotting, I've bitten off far more than I can chew, and the plot is still heading in a direction I don't feel like I can deliver well on.**

 **It all really boiled down to me letting sub-plots get out of control, I'd start couple new ones every chapter just to improve a paragraph or something XD , and so with every chapter I'd raise the difficulty curve on myself. It got the point where it's been taking me months to write a chapter and chapters are hitting ludicrous lengths like 10,000 words. Only reason I've been able to keep going is because I'm friggin stubborn : p . So now I've finally decided to do the realistic thing, take what I've learned, take what I've loved, and put it into something I can do justice, and give you guys a foreseeable ending.**

 **At present I am rewriting the story from scratch using some outlining software, and it going excellent. This way, with my next attempt the plot won't get too far out of my hands, but it should still have that big bang ending I'm looking for. You can still expect for it to be interesting and weird, and you can DEFINITELY expect the romantic sub-plot to take a similar route. It was after all, the biggest success of this fan fiction I think.**

 **There will be some nods back to this story in the new one, and the characters personalities for Judy, Nick, Fangmeyer, and Wolford will be near identical, but this story on whole will be considered non-canon.**

 **That said, I have been holding out on my last two finished chapters for my supporters on Pat reon to read. I figured if I'm not going to ever finish that chapter set, it's only right for me to go ahead in post what's done so you all can enjoy. And speaking of Pat reon, for any of you out there who are interested, all my supporters for just a dollar are going to be able to look at the unfinished chapters of this set (13, 14, 15, 16 [17 never got written at all] and 18.) If you are interested I must stress that "unfinished" means _unfinished_ , some of them are very fragmented XD.**

 **My Pat reon is:**

 **www. pat reon (period) com (slash) JackShayuWalker**

 **[Again FanFiction hates urls, so you'll have to Manually enter it .]**

 **Anyway, without further ado, enjoy what you've waited far too long for : p**

* * *

Cold stabbed in from all sides. It passed right through his pelt, and gripped his core. Confusion set in with fatigue, his head felt like a buoy. It was the usual morning cocktail, but laced with bull steroids.

The chill formed a sharp line at his shoulders.

Nick's first reaction was to thrash, and that told him about all he needed know. Bathwater sloshed out over the floor. Eyes wide open. He latched onto the side of the tub and pulled himself out. The strain on his right arm was more than _happy_ to re-light the fire in his shoulder.

He tumbled out onto the white bath rug with a wet 'fwop' and a grunt. As his shoulder commanded, he started to weep through rapid, shallow breaths. There was no reserve of energy to draw on for restraint. All of the muscles in his body ached, as if they'd been contracting for hours. Even in his heart he felt like he'd been doing sprints.

Stubborn, he pulled himself up by the towel rack, and snatched one of the fluffy cloths. He rubbed it hastily over his pelt before stumbling out of the bathroom and turning left for the bedroom. He tore the crumpled covers from the foot of the bed and then dragged them back to the living room where he chucked them at the couch.

The sun was just starting to peek through the kitchen window.

He shambled to the counter for his medicine bottle.

It took the determined fox more sobs than it did seconds to pry the lid off. He threw one back, and dropped the container. His next job was to collapse onto the couch and start artisanally wrapping that bedspread around himself.

Within two minutes he was snuggled up in a homemade burrow that would put a savage's to shame; dirt and grass had nothing on thick velvet. Head tucked deep inside, the sunrise was blotted out and his body's heat was finally starting to stick. It didn't take his mind long to smother a candle flame.

 _Cozy felt covered leather, swaddling around by cycles._

 _Long ears weaving and curling around his throat. A soft nose to greet._

 _Chortling in his left ear… but then a weird whisper in his right._

 _It pulls him briefly and shows him to angle the strange lines, he shakes it free with haste._

 _Retreating back to that den of Turkish cotton. Smelling the violets. Lathering in warmth._

 _He holds tight to that familiar form and murmurs something sweet._

 _Happily lodged in an amorous tumble drier. His tummy starts to shrivel._

Nick opened his eyes to an angry growling stomach. He felt starved enough to swallow a whole grouper fish. Nocturnal vision began adjusting for the dark, but there was nothing there. Unnerved, he started to sit up, but the cloth membrane of his burrow was quick to greet.

Oh, that was right.

The little sliver of panic quickly faded. Hazy dream details soon joined it as he flopped back down. The muscle in his head made itself busy wrestling with what had happened in the tub.

Having gotten dirty on the way home, a bath had seemed good. Didn't want dirt on the sheets. He'd fallen asleep in there, but that wasn't anything new… A hot bath softened up muscles, brought down blood pressure, and widened the vessels. Passing out wasn't exactly ideal, but it happened. Usually he woke up before it was cold.

The fox stretched his legs a little, and settled back down. He let his eyes roll back.

" _...You NEVER drink and bathe, man…"_

A bit from Boche Rhinostine's special floated through his skull.

" _It's like driving… yeah not even once! Don't do it… Look at the girls in the audience, they're lookin' at me like I'm a crazy. No,_ _guys_ _, don't let them manipulate you with those looks. Don't do it, it's stupid, I've done it, because I'm stupid… You're worried about pussy? My girl told me that once, 'you're dirty! You come to bed like that you ain't gettin any!" Listen guys, you're plastered, you can't feel anything with that stick between your legs anyway. Pass it up, go to sleep!"_

Rhinostine would then set into some anecdote about nearly drowning in two feet of water… the specifics of which Nick couldn't recall. Half an hour passed as he bobbed between sleep and wakefulness. Half an hour, but his mind's eye put a distance of about a year between him and the bathroom.

He would eventually poke his head out to find it was bright outside. A glance at the clock told him '11:09'.

 _Jesus... that long?_

Slowly, he crawled out and put his body through another round of stretches. Had to be careful with his right; he was dying to let the muscles on that side flex, but he had to be careful, and do it slow. Soon as he was done, Nick pressed his feet into the carpet and trudged back to his bedroom.

It starting to become a garbage heap again.

He grunted.

 _Well,_ _soon_ _you're going to_ _have_ _to start cleaning it._

The alarm clock in here read '10:11,' he'd never set it forward for Spring. Wouldn't matter soon, he supposed. The answering machine's little red light was blinking. He flicked the button as he passed the bedside table.

"First saved message, received, October fourteenth at, seven thirty-six A.M:"

A beep.

"Nick, It's Clawhauser. I'm just calling to let you know we need you to come down to the station some time in the next few days. It's about yesterday... Chief says not to panic, but you need to check your work email."

The fox started with a deep breath, but couldn't help but let it escape as a low growl.

He dug a pair of boxer shorts out of his drawer, and scavenged a black undershirt off the ground. After struggling into both, he stumbled over to his bed and reached for last night's shirt.

It looked... wet. He picked it up.

A quick sniff had him recoil and toss the garment to the side.

The scent of street runoff practically _stung_.

Oh, right. Some jerk had sped past him through a puddle on the way home last night, splashed him with streetwater... then _he'd_ had the good sense to leave it on the bed. There was a damp spot, on the sheets.

 _Great… Add laundromat to cleanup list._

He fished another identical shirt out of the hamper, checked it for the scent, and draped it over his good arm. The sweat smell was workable. He dug his last pair of khakis, the really uncomfortable ones he wore when he expected to walk in mud, and grabbed one of his striped ties. He threw them all to a clean spot on the bed.

A quick pass back through the bathroom, and he grabbed his arm sling and little glass bottle labeled "Fury". Stalking back, he gave his shirt a few sprays of the oaky cologne. Then he stopped, thought about it, and gave a spritz to his sling. He never washed the thing after all.

Holding the shirt to his nose he gave it another sniff. Presto. Good as new. He smoothed it out as best as he could, and then started putting his arms through.

A decade of wearing same getup, and still no desire to change. It was strange to think about it.

He'd designed the uniform to deliver a certain sense of "laid back professionalism" to his clientele. Well, they didn't control his livelihood anymore, and he still dressed the same every single day. The consistency just seemed absurd. His wardrobe _should_ have expanded, but it just hadn't. Nine long years of wearing the same get up, you just got accustomed… No there was more to it than that.

He wasn't just used to the getup, he was _attached_ to it. It was part of who Nick Wilde was. Five years ago, if you'd taken the shirt and tie away, he would've just been a delinquent; bound to go nowhere, trusted by nobody. But with that uniform, he became the smooth talker, the entrepreneur, the schemer. He became that higher class of rogue that could thread its fingers through the minds of mammals in the middle rung.

Though it'd just been a well practiced routine at first, he'd internalized it over time. The 'clever fox' had learned to stop kicking, and to just... let himself float. If the world was going to try and drown you, then it was the only thing to do. It hurt to watch the mammals around you tread water until they were out of breath, but it didn't mean you had to join them.

Shirt buttoned, Nick stared at his tie for a moment.

He had a legitimate career in his paws now, but still... the lessons he'd learned from being in the wrong places at the wrong times, and talking his way out, they were still valuable. These shirts and ties were a badge in their own right. There was pride to be taken in them.

His fingers looped the tie.

 _Fake it 'til you become it…_

He took another deep breath.

In all his time on the street, he'd never even been remotely close to pulling a trigger, or even holding a gun. Killing someone. It didn't feel good. It felt like a big bad can of worms he would rather let slip back into the soil rather than swallow. Shot or get shot. Why was everyone shooting all of the sudden? He cut himself off.

 _It'll be fine,_

He repeated that to himself a couple times.

 _Fake it 'til you become it..._

He refocused in on the quote. There was some motivational speaker spouting that line nowadays. A pig. He couldn't draw the name but he figured the bunny would probably know. Motivational speeches were her cup of tea, or carrot juice, or whatever.

 _Fake it 'til you become it._

He smiled.

 _Maybe I owe miss piggy an endorsement. Coming from the cop who cracked the city's biggest case, it'll probably carry some kind of weight. Got to help a fellow scammer somehow, right..._

The grin spread further across his face. Just as he was about to tighten the tie into place, the blue grab hanging in his closet caught his eye.

 _Speaking of badges…_

He technically still owned _one_ clean outfit.

Plodding over, he propped himself against the doorway and flicked on the light.

Navy blue pants and a shirt, a black tie with a gold pin, a matching name tag, and a laced gold cord for his shoulder. The _real_ outfit. He hadn't gotten to wear _any_ of it in two fox thought, and seriously considered, but ultimately he just chuckled and pulled the tail of his tie into place.

He did spare a glance down to the freshly dry-cleaned red Aloha shirt tucked into the corner, but that was for Monday, he couldn't touch it just yet.

Nick was about to turn and walk away but then an idea hit him. A fun little compromise. He reached back into the closet, with a devious little grin.

 _Hate this thing anyway._

From: Dr. Amy Shrewman, ZPD Human Resources

To: Officer, Nick Wilde

Date: October 13th 2016

Subject: Debriefing.

Good evening Mr. Wilde,

I just wanted to let you know that I need to touch bases with you over what happened earlier this evening. I know it's probably not a pleasant topic, but we just want to make sure you're doing okay, and see if you need anything.

Use of force in order to protect another mammal is well within your rights, even as an off duty officer. However we will need to debrief you just the same as if you were on the job. Further, an investigation _will_ be conducted, but given the circumstances of the incident, we expect you to be cleared quickly.

The way this usually goes is someone from the Bureau of Investigation is going to come down, you and I are going to talk privately, and then the Bureau's representative is going to ask you some questions. He's going to be looking for details on his case, and I'll be taking a few extra notes. More importantly I'll be sitting in to make sure he's respectful.

Now I don't doubt that he _will_ be respectful, but as a psychiatrist that has worked with force for a long time I understand, and the ZPD policy makers understand, that these issues can be very difficult to swallow. If at any time you feel you are unable to continue, we will be able to postpone the questioning to a later date. Additionally, If representative asks you any questions you are not required to answer I will let you know, but I expect him to be professional.

After he's done, we can discuss whether or not you feel like you need to start seeing someone for counseling. It's usually a mandatory process, but seeing as you're already on leave, the rules are a little different. I would still highly recommend it regardless.

Now, since you are not here during the workday, we'll need to work out a good time for an appointment. If you'd like, I can pencil you for some time this weekend; we can sit down, talk things through, and hash out a time for the Bureau afterwards. Otherwise, I'll just need you to give me a time next week, and we'll knock this whole thing out in one sitting. I promise it's not all that bad.

Either way, If you have _any_ questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at  AFshrewman .gov .

Thank you, and I'll see you soon.

-Amy

Nicolas Wilde took a stroll down a once familiar sidewalk, a drawstring pack on his back. He'd managed to tuck the bag of takeout into his sling, hot sandwiches keeping right arm warm. Unfortunately, that didn't make hauling a drink tray ten blocks any more fun.

He'd managed to talk Blake Sturgis down from Bug Burger, but the implied splitting of the tab had broken down into an "it's gratis" kind of a deal. Smoothie Palace was a cash scalp. He knew that. But arguing through seventeen _more_ suggestions over SMS wasn't going to save any time, and it wasn't where he wanted his thoughts to linger.

There were far more important things to reprocess while he took his walk. Yesterday was what a crass mammal might have called "a long fucking day." Normally he'd look for a more cordial way to phrase it, but this time, it was probably just about right. Jeez.

Miss Carrot-Donut had a bruise the size of a pancake on her chest, Grumpy had drowned is gasoline, and Delgato was gone. Great place to start, _classic_ ; the good guys were always the losing team, weren't they? Oh but the program only got better from there.

He'd been forced to pull a gun and use it for its full... _intended_ purpose. Then makeup yanked him backstage to prepare for his _next_ role as Romeo. A short, awkward, espousal of feelings he couldn't take back or filter. It even got set to the wrong symphony. Rather than violins, they got, a drumset and a groaning polecat who sounded like he'd _already_ been put out of his misery, in stereo.

Oh, but she seemed to like it _anyway_... luckily, the fun didn't end there, though. A _fter_ professing his true love in the back of a shot-out police vehicle, he'd been graced with the opportunity meet Amable Madre's incredibly _kind_ and _likable_ chief of medicine. Guess there was no reason the staff called him the 'Angel of Death' after all.

The conversation between the two of them had ended in true fashion for mammals of their station. Two crotchety, old, predators barking threats and measuring phalluses. Pops would have been proud...

His reward was getting to hold a sobbing, grief stricken, bunny for two hours. Breaks in between, _of course_ , to console Snow White too who… frankly couldn't be blamed for his condition, considering it was _his_ partner in the Emergency Room.

"Romeo" took his proverbial 'cigarette break' at dusk, but it wasn't "fated" to last too long.

The bunny found him within an hour, and saw fit to _interrogate_ him over the very confession he'd _given_ to her _._ It hadn't made things any simpler between them, that was for sure, but maybe it hadn't been a _wholly_ bad thing… he'd gotten to say a few things he probably should have in the first place.

After swallowing that pill he'd been forced to _"help"_ apprehend some crazed lynx he could only assume stepped out of a Daer El Mambo comic strip. The blueberry on top was, of course, having his birthday surprise for his best friend spoiled.

What a great day.

It'd ended with him kissing that stupid bunny right on her forehead. It was a stupid move that really made him question his own judgment. There were better ways to reassure her. The way she'd flown off the rails, he _should_ have expected that! Jesus he'd let the alcohol run away with his sense.

He heard a baritone Fennec laugh in the back of his head.

" _I swear man, I should've sent that boy to work in queer hook house. You give em a little booze and he can't keep his lips to himself. Like physically."_

Nick sighed.

It was rash, but it wasn't a completely indefensible move… he'd _needed_ to do _something_... even if she _did_ have another interrogation lined up for him now.

What she'd said...

 _...point, is, I have had bad experiences, and I don't date anymore._

" _Well, that's convenient... "_

It'd been such a relief to hear, _"...because I never asked you out."_ But when his relief had showed… the way her ears had started to droop. He knew she really hadn't gotten it.

Dating was crossing a line... and he probably couldn't have muddled that point anymore than he had last night... but she _had to know_ that he hadn't meant to close her off. He hadn't _meant_ for her to take relief as "I'll _never_ show you my feelings." It was so important that she didn't _believe_ that… He needed a place for those to go… but he needed some time and some space too. Most of all he didn't want to hurt the bunny. Not more than he already had... So he'd acted a little hasty…. Well he _could_ and he _would_ explain things more clearly tonight. It'd be fine.

What was _more_ important, in all of this was the deal he'd gotten out of the bunny.

They were finally going to be _partners_ again. By some miracle she'd finally listened. The real subject of his focus now, was: "how do I not screw this up?" She was trusting him over the rules, and over Bogo. He couldn't drop the ball. Her safety was couched on his ability to prove himself useful without getting hurt. That meant he was going to have to reciprocate trust, let her pull some of the weight. Tall order, but one he'd fill tenaciously…

The sight of dusty old brick finally drew the fox from his thoughts.

' _The Falls'_ A big rusting sign still read. Fancy typeface was eroding. It made him smile.

S _till_ a comically unfitting name for this place... Unless ofcourse you counted the rank performances of Ricky Barlow, who's mistress would _occasionally_ lock him out on the fire escape when he was gut-wrenching drunk. Then it was just comical.

Nick could remember bouncing a nurf ball off the paper thin walls at twenty two, Finnick had been there. They'd been laughing at the neighbors who were chewing out old Barlow over their splattered "back-porch". Ofcourse you had to cut the old mammal slack in person, the poor guy had worked his forty at the plant every week for next to nothing. God only knew where he was now...

It truely filled Nick with joy to see the place had gone untouched. The gentrification rash hadn't spread here yet. That was a good. Not every decent mammal could afford to pay a jacked up rate. Lot of the guys here had used to get by just like Barlow. Surely a lot still did. Not everybody could be sly as a fox, or lucky as Steve. He'd only managed to duck out seven years back, because the "hungry baby and his dad" con had evolved into the lucrative pawpsicle hustle.

Standing beneath the building's foundations again made his fur bristle. He rounded the corner to the B wing, and a little swagger started leaking into his step. He let the nostalgia lap at his cheek as he hiked up all the way to the top floor.

Three parallel staircases turned into two, turned into one. Striped yellow signs warned larger visitors to watch their heads, as each floor got smaller and smaller. Nick followed the numbers to door 511. Heart thumping, he sat the food down with his bag. After a nervous lick of the chops, let his face relax.

The mask went on. Disappointment, distrust, and glazed over anger. Perfect. it looked like a slight frown, and swayed back ears, not a single taut muscle. Paws went into the drawstring bag. He slid on his reflective shades, and donned his blue police cap.

Then he stood and leaned in just close enough so that the other side of the peephole wouldn't be able to see his shirt collar. Three hard knocks on the door.

"Mr. Sturgis, ZPD! We're going to talk like we agreed."

Counting seconds, he made it to eleven before he heard timid footsteps patter close. Further silence made it to the count of seven.

"Uhm…Hey Nick, is that you?" a voice squeaked.

Nick gave annoyed sigh.

" _Yes_... it's Officer Wilde, I _assume_ I can come in?"

"We… talked over the Muzzlebook yesterday... right?"

Nick added a _little_ more of a growl. The 'I didn't get my donut and coffee this morning, don't test me kid,' growl.

" _Well, I should certainly hope so._ Else my memory is failing me sooner than I expected..."

He got no reply back.

"Sturgis, I would very much advise against wasting my time."

Footfalls on the other side slowly moved _away_ from the door. Going off memory, Nick guessed the little weasel was probably headed for the crevice between his refrigerator and the wall of his kitchen.

He huffed.

"Look, I brought the food, like we agreed... Let's just get this thing over with."

The footsteps _stopped_.

 _C'mon, reel it back in._

He pretended to choke on it… _liiike_ a dried up prick who sold out his friends for greener pastures.

"All I need is the information... Blake. I'm sorry."

Ducking away from the peep hole, Nick hooked his sunglasses onto his shirt pocket, and slid the visor of his hat down the back of his waistband. He grabbed the smoothies.

"Com'on, uh… please?"

"O-okay, give me a second," the voice, said.

The fox placed his good shoulder against the door. Three locks clicked in sequence. *Clink* *Clank* and *Clonk*.

"...I-it's just that-"

As soon as the knob turned, Nick threw his weight against the door.

A yelp. The figure lept away from the door. A few years, and a few more pounds, but he still had that pouty kid look about him.

Landingon all fours, failed to gain the weasel control. He slid and crashed into the kitchen counter, like he was on ice. Now, it was hard to say when that got Nick _started_ laughing, but by the time the weasel thought to crane his head around, the fox was practically holding his sides.

Nick tried to lay on the condescending glaze but the sincerity evaded him.

"Aww, what's the matter?... You look like you just saw the a ghost."

"H-… y-you asshole! You havn't changed at all!"

"Are you _disappointed_?"

Blake just shot him an ugly look.

Still snickering, Nick bent over and held out the smoothies, as if he meant to put a paw on his knee.

"Look I'm sorry... Come here and get these, I carried 'em all the way here...".

The weasel hesitated at first.

"...I just," Nick said " _Ah._ I just haven't seen your face do that since-"

 _Since Dex dumped all those shrimp down your shirt collar at the "Christmass Party"…_

Nick momentarily succumbed to the laughing before quickly reigning it in. He meant to wipe the moisture from his eyes, but couldn't without a paw free.

Blake fianlly stomped over, shoulders hunched, and snatched the tray out of his hands.

With a smile Nick stood up, popped his back, and brushed a furry forearm across his eyes. A deep breath came with it out of necessity. It did little to relieve him of the Blake's sour glare.

"You scared me, you jerk!"

The fox reached for the back of his waistband, and gave the weasel his most playful inflection.

" _Yeah_ well _..._ "

He slapped the police cap onto the weasel's head.

"...that was kind of the idea, squeaker."

He rubbed the hat around playfully for good measure, and then turned to gather the food. Blake growled, but Nick ignored it. A bad move, _apparently_ , because as soon as he turned back around the big bad weasel blocked the way, either paw gripping one side of the door frame.

The fox couldn't help but chuckle, which inevitably made that scowl grow darker.

" _Alright_ , come on," said Nick.

He leaned in and wrapped a good arm around the weasel.

" _I'm sorry._ "

It didn't get Sturgis to relax much, but at the very least, his mood seemed to shift from angry to uncomfortable.

"Seriously dude, you _know_ how nervous cops make me."

" _Yeah_ , well I'll try not to take it personally."

Blake huffed. That was all the acknowledgment he needed.

He stood up and gave him another smile.

The weasel's eyes shifted. Then he rubbed his arm.

"...So's that where you got shot?"

Nick blinked. Eyes went to his cripped shoulder.

"Yeah."

He pointed with his thumb, and blew air from his nose.

"Actually it went right in my shoulder here, _aaand_... it never came out the other side. Good time, I can recommend it."

"Well. they got it out, right?"

"No, they did not."

"What!? That's totally messed up, dude! Aren't they supposed to do that!?"

Nick smiled. He felt something like an nine year old kit showing off his first set of stitches.

" _Well,_ the idea was it'd heal faster if they left it in. Guess it's a little too close to my artery to mess with, or something. Oh well."

He pulled his shirt sleeve out of the way.

Blake Sturgis stood on his tiptoes and stared at the little black hole with accompanying pair of stitches.

"Whoa. That's brutal..."

Nick opened up his lungs as if to chuckle but it just came out as a little snort.

The weasel snapped from his trance.

"Oh, so how much was this stuff, anyway?"

Nick raised a brow.

"Uh…"

"The food."

"Oh. Don't worry about it. I told you, it's on me."

The weasel finally laughed. Then as if to accentuate his point, he put his searious face back on.

"I just want to know how much money you wasted."

Nick brushed past the weasel, and headed back into the apartment.

"That so?"

"Mhm."

There was a certain _stench_ inside. He'd gotten a good whiff of it when he'd first shoved in the door. It smelled like a new habbit. The ceiling was yellow and the smell didn't quite carry the same chemical burn as tobacco. He smiled, inwardly this time. If the weasel ever inherited his brother's nickname, it wouldn't be for carrying knives...

The fox threw a lazy jab back at the weasel.

"What's that line all the health screws like to throw around? You are what you eat?"

"So you're a fruit?"

Nick glanced back to find the weasel was flipping the police cap over in his paws.

It got a more genuine smile out of him.

" _Yeah buddy_ , I'm a fruit. Come on, let's sit down and eat already. I'll tell you about it."


	13. Chapter 12: Begin Again

If an entire sentence is just in italics that implies it's a thought inside the character's head. If an entire sentance is in just quotations it's obviously dialogue. However if an entire line is in both quotations _and_ italics, _including_ the quotation marks themselves, it is the character remembering a quote spoken by _someone else_. I think context clues usually make this clear, but there's one instance in this chapter where it's not so clear, so just a friendly reminder.

(Add more of Blake Sturgis being picky.)

The musky dwelling was cramped, and the blinds were drawn. It didn't stop Nick from settling into his familiar spot. Stretching out in one of Sturgis's _reclining_ dining chairs was something he'd missed doing. It was one of those weird gizmos you'd call stupid until you suddenly realised you wanted one.

Junk had claimed many of the shelves and surfaces since he'd last been in the apartment. Though none of it was actual _trash_ , Blake still proved himself a hoarder through and through. And now Jack wasn't here to keep things sorted...

Fiction books and a few D&D boxes littered the table. At the center, a bloated three wick candle flickered and practically crammed the smell of lilac up his nose.

"...but it's messed up dude. I mean I get it but it's just…" the weasel rambled.

The fox glanced at the stains on the ceiling.

 _Clearly, I'm not supposed to smell,_ _something_ _, huh?_

He took another pull on his smoothie and pondered over whether it was out of courtesy or deceit. As he looked back to the younger mammal it suddenly occurred to him… Blake sturgis was probably the only mammal with a wardrobe as stagnate as his own. Every day was a white T-shirt and basketball shorts, and clearly that hadn't changed A throaty whine seeped into the weasel's voice.

"...how can you spin a lie that fast, though?"

Nick had of course been grunting and nodding his head the whole time, but this time he gave auto-pilot a break. He spoke around his straw.

" _Well_ Jack, Vince, and _drink_ have never been a good company. So believe me, I had my story straight. as. a. razor, before the first drop even got poured."  
"Yeah… sure. Whatever you say."

The weasel's shoulders drooped.

" _Hey_ it was a fun night, but I wasn't going to take a fall for it."

"You never do…"

The weasel sucked on his own straw, eyes falling to the table.

"Hey anyway, since we're on it… I-I have to ask... what happened to _us_ , Nick?"

The fox let his wrist rest on the table's edge.

" _Us?_ "

"Well. You never call anymore, or stop by, or anything. Not 'til now."

Nick allowed himself stare past Sturgis for a moment. Then he smiled and closed his eyes.

"Ah… yeah you're right. I probably should've brought more flowers, too."

"...Flowers?"

Nick gave a sultry sigh and hiked up the pitch.

"Oh Blakey... there's just so many boys in the out there in the ocean. You know I like 'em short, I guess I fell too hard for that Fennec of mine, weasel's just didn't get it up for me anymore."  
"Dude!"

The smirk returned, but it came with big starry eyes.

"Or maybe you're just not enough of a potty mouth, I'm into that too."

"Ew!"

"Ew? Really? That's where you draw the line?"

"Stop, Nick!"

"So judgemental, aren't we?"

"You're just trying to weird me out!"

"What if I'm being honest? You're hurting my feelings, Blake. My big... _guy_ feelings."

"If I was, you wouldn't be grinning like that!"

"Wouldn't I?"

He posed it like an innocent question.

The weasel grew tense. Then… he just took a deep breath, clasped his hands together and stared at the wall. The fox's first response was was to raise an eyebrow and grin wider, but Blake said nothing. His brother had taught him the trick after a younger Nick Wilde had teased the weasel to tears one too many times.

Nick took his smoothie and gave it a big long slurpt.

"Mmm, _so_ good."

Blake didn't budge, so Nick took the last bite of his sandwich and pulled out his cell phone. The weasel had still barely touched his meal...

The fox started thumbing through his apps. Half a minute passed in silence. He started off headed for the Furtube app; there were a few clips he knew would get the weasel going. Then the 'messages' icon caught his eye. He clicked it. Scrolling through his contacts, he hovered over Benjamin Clawhauser for a moment. The start of the last message: "I think you should just tell her how you…". He scrolled back up to Judy Hopps and tapped the screen.

xXx

'JH: You WERE asking me on a date!"

'Now don't go and flatter yourself too much, Carrots.'

'JH: Nicholas Wilde what is wrong with you!?'

'C u tomorrow~'

'JH: We need to have a talk!'

xXx

Nick kept the straight face up for Blake, but inside he took a deep breath and started typing.

"Seriously Nick, why haven't you stopped by, dude?"

Eyes on the screen, he let out a careful sigh, just somber enough to sound meaningful, but poised enough not to convey insecurity.

"Because, that's how friends work, Wrinks. They come and they go... S'far as I'm concerned that's what Muzzlebook's for. You keep track of the ones you liked."

The weasel wilted.

" _You're_ still too honest."

"And you still need to take a compliment when I give you one."

That didn't seem to improve the weasel's mood, but then he could've guessed it wouldn't. After an appropriate silence, he started again.

"You guys have always been a genuine crowd, Blake, you really have. But... well, I can only afford to get into so much trouble."

And there it was.

Blake's face went straight-lipped and still. His eyes locked onto their target, wet, and wide open.

Nick could see the scowl for what it was. That was the "you think you're better than me?" look; the look that every bottom feeder had thrown around at least once. The favorite target was, of course, Jare-M-E Law. Jeremy who always did his best to police, regulate, and sterilize the bottom, but never did anything to ease anyones stomach pain, or help get them up in the morning.

Nick sat down his phone and carefully chose his words.

"Look… I know exactly how that sounds coming from a snag. But that's not where I'm coming from."

He waited for a queue, but Blake just looked off to the side. That was somewhere between a 'I don't buy it' and a 'please elaborate.'

"The whole reason I got distant in the first place was for business. Finnick always had a good sense of when and when not to behave, Jack never did. At the time, I was still on the rackett, and I needed to keep eyes out of my finances. Actually that almost bit me in the butt earlier this year"

"Right, but... I'm not Jack, Nick."

"You're his brother, buddy. I don't think I could really get away with ducking him and hanging out with you…"

The weasel's stared at the table.

"Uh huh…"

There was an implied _"if you say so."_

He thought of offering to visit the weasel more often, but that'd be bad for keeping options open. It was a crummy motive, and he he felt bad for it, but a broken promise hurt more than no promise at all.

"So when'd he move out anyway?"

"Last year, about February, I think. He still used to stop by a lot."

"Hmm…"

The weasel was growing more sullen by the second.

Nick did his best to peel back the mask. He gave the weasel the most genuine look he had.

"Look… you know I've _never_ judged you guys for doing what you have to do. And I still don't… I just don't like getting caught in it."

The weasel sighed.

Nick read into the noise and replied, adding the right lingo and all.

" _Yeah, I know_ … it was still cold. But I couldn't afford to let those damn blue shirts get into my records. We all wanted out of the pits, buddy, and I saw my route. I didn't mean for it to hit you in the chest."

"So, what? 'Can't beat 'em, join 'em?' You looked like the real brass outside _my_ door."

" _Well_ , that's the big question isn't it?... I guess, I met someone who showed me there was something more to this. Something I wanted. Doing the job feels... a lot better than I thought it would. 'Guess when I was really little, I always thought it might be like this, but I tossed that idea like the rest of us did, growing up."

Nick watched the way the weasel's lips twitched and failed to settle on an expression.

"I'll spare you the lecture, squeaker. I know you don't need to hear it. Not here to harass you. Just want to help."

"So... you found another lady?"

Nick winced without meaning to.

"Hang on. That's not what I meant…"

The weasel smiled.

"Ugh, I just answered your question... Look it's a bit of complicated issue, I'd rather not talk about it. "

"Huh. She sounds like a rough ride, dude."

Nick put a paw to his face.

"Did you do her yet?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to talk to you about that."

The weasel laughed.

"That means yes!"

"You're _assuming_. _"_

"And I'm doing it right! I bet Wilde scores it from behind, _every night._ "

The weasel started to pantomime.

Sure the limits of his skull would disallow him to roll his eyes as hard as he wanted, Nick just gave the weasel a scowl.

"I have not slept with her Blake Sturgis, now put down that sandwich and eat it."

"Maybe I like sandwiches, you're hurting my feeling's Nicky."

The fox rubbed his eyes.

" _Ugh…"_

"Mmm, it's _so good_."

"-he said not even eating it."

"So what does she feel like?"

The fox puffed a hot jet of air from his nose. The weasel just kept sitting there with his big _poorly executed_ grin.

"Like sandpaper for all I know."

"I think they have a cream for that, dude."

Nick just stared past him at the wall.

"So what species is she anyway?"

Nick reached into the bag and stuffed some homemade chips into his mouth.

" _Wait,_ it's that bunny cop isn't it? You always post pictures with her in them…"

 _You're powers of deduction_ _terrify_ _me._

" _C'mon Nick_ , I bet she-"

He spoke with his mouth full.

"Seriously, I take your point… drop it."

The weasel's exaggerated smugness started to melt away.

"Is it that bad?"

"I never said it was bad. I said it was complicated."

"Like July Heartland complicated?"

"I don't even know who that is."

"Haven't you watched Mammilians this season!?"

"No, I haven't."

"Oh dude, we have to watch it, I still got Netflix!…Oh and I'm sorry. I was just messing around and stuff."

Nick sighed.

" _Well_ I deserve it... but, it would be nice if _both of us_ had wit developed past fourth grade."

Blake crossed his arms.

"Uh-huh, I'll let that one slide… Nick I'm sorry-"

" _Changing the subject,_ because thatreminds me of something I've gotta tell you. You remember that time Vince Pasternak and Jack got us pulled for swerving around Ficus?"

"I dunno, who was driving? Jack's been pulled a handful."

"Only been in your car once when it got pulled, squirt."

"Jack's shelled out a lot to the courthouse Nick. It all sortof blends together."

Nick smiled, and sighed.

"You don't remember Vince getting pulled to the side of Orchid, and Jack getting an attitude over the definition of 'reckless driving'?"

" _Oh!_ you mean that time that jerk nic'd our cash!"

"Yeah. _Mr. Civil Forfeiture_."

Nick tried to remember what exactly they'd said.

" _...ergo there wasn't any danger, ergo it wasn't reckless! Get it!? C'mon, use that thick skull, of yours, Snag. I'm using mine!"_

" _Oh. I see"_ said the cop, _"_ _Well,_ _I think we're done here. Have a nice day, oh but I have determined you were on your way to purchase narcotics, so I'll be confiscating_ _this…"_

" _Hey! What the hell? You can't-""_

" _in accordance_ _with ordinance 219B, any property believed to be involved in a crime that's taken place or is about to take place may be confiscated and tried in and of itself."_

It was something like that.

"...but that's bull right? I mean what the hell kindof government just let's that be okay!?"

Nick refocused on the weasel.

"Yeah, so I'm pretty sure I know that guy, now."  
"What!?"

He smiled.  
"Yeah he's a real sweetheart, his name's Dallas."

"Nick, _nohoho..._ don't tell me you're cool with a guy like _that._ "

He nodded.

"Oh it's true, I'm afraid."  
"You've gotta be kidding!... how do you even know it's him?"  
" _There's only one whitey in the First Precinct_ , and he's been there for seven years. Don't know who crammed a stick up his butt that day, _but_ I've never seen him act like that since."  
" _You can't._ What the heck's happened to you? I get you don't like rule breaking but getting cozy with a guy like that is a whole nother thing!"

Nick waved a finger.

"Now let's rewind. There's a _big_ difference between not breaking rules and not getting in trouble, Blake Sturgis. Look at me and tell me which of those things I abstain from."

"You know what I _mean_."

"Credit where credit is due, squirt. A fox's disposable income doesn't come from nowhere."

"Apparently it does, now!"

" _Well,_ there sure ain't much of it anymore, I'll tell you that."

"Nick... you can't be friends with that guy."

Nick flopped down his ears.

"Come on ma', I can't help who I'm fwiends with."

The weasel grumbled, and glared.

He got a big smile back.

"Look I know. It's Ironic right? but he's actually one of the nicest guys I know down at the station. Really genuine. A little obnoxious sometimes, but then if that disqualified someone from my company… well then I wouldn't be here badgering you to..."

Nick flicked a small chip over the table at Blake. It hit him dead on the nose.

"...to eat your sandwich."

Fur bristled, and then there was a growl.

"Sorry ma', I'll stop throwing food I promise."

A large mustard covered chunk of sandwich slapped the fox across the face. Yellow goop splattered and tofu chunk thudded to the floor with the bread. He looked down at his muzzle and then back up at the weasel. It was dressed in some pouting, but there was that confrontational stare. The fox closed his eyes, and wiped his face.

" _Okay._ I was trying to be funny. I did not mean to imply that I went out and bought you an _eight dollar sandwich_ to have you throw it at me!"

Nick took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find the weasel was... shaking? It wasn't 'I drank a smoothie and now I'm shivering from the cold' shaking, it _shaking_ shaking.Like _cornered animal_ shaking.

 _Why would…?_

But truthfully, it wasn't that hard to figure out. The fox just hadn't wanted to see it. Much as he wanted to play it off for laughs, this wasn't a joke to the runt. The way the weasel leaned away from the police cap, you'd think it was a focus for the devil.

A quick run of habit had Nick drop his voice down to the gentle range.

"What'sa matter Blakey, fox got your tongue?"

He punctuated the sultry tone by blowing out the weasel's candle. Panic'd observation _quickly_ told him he'd shot back to the wrong point in the conversation. Blake snatched the candle and started to try and relight it with his pocket lighter.

Jaw slack, Nick watched the weasel guard the column of wax like his life depended on it.

"Really? You _honestly_ think I can't smell it?"

"W-what?"

Nick sighed. Then he stood and the weasel's tension rocketed to eleven.

 _You_ _need_ _to de-escelate, Wilde._

But the reaction pinched his nerves in just the wrong way. No he _could_ prove this point, properly. He made an advance for the kitchen, but the weasel threw himself in the way.

Nick giggled.

" _C'mon buddy._ "

He tried to push past softly, but that sparked the real fight.

The weasel threw himself with surprising force against the fox's waist.

Nick braced and grappled.

He kept up the chuckling; he had to make it seem gentle, like they were playing. They _were,_ playing.

With just a _bit_ more force, the fox threw their bodies against the kitchen counter. Blake stumbled. Nick shoved him to the floor and lunged towards the counter. A paw caught him by the tail and yanked. Vision went red. Pain, and a loss of balance. He caught himself by the edge of the marble.

"Say out of my stuff, Nick!"

The fox kept self control, but the laughing stopped. He turned, and shoved the weasel down to the floor with his foot. His good arm ripped open the cabinet.

It took two good whiffs to figure it. He grabbed the crockpot.

The weasel suddenly _slammed_ into him.

There was a clang. Stabbing pain. Next thing Nick knew he was on his side. It felt like his shoulder was in a hunting trap. A squeal. He soon realized it was his own.

He was vaguely aware of the weasel snatching something off the floor.

The fox could only focus on holding another scream. Sucking air through teeth he naturally curled into a ball. He couldn't think. No surroundings, no weasel. He just held himself, and ground teeth, until waves of pain carried him back to felt like five whole minutes, but then pain slowed time.

As soon as his body allowed he craned his head around. The weasel just stood there, secret tucked behind his back. He was shuttering, back against the wall, eyes big. Like someone had snapped his wind-up spring.

The fox knew what the beginnings of a panic attack looked like. The pain forced him to start with a growl in his voice.

"Hey! Wrinks!"  
Not a flinch.

 _Shit._

He was already blasting off to Mars.  
Nick stumbled, agonizingly, onto his feet and staggered forwards.

The advance kindled Sturgis like a gas fire. His breathing accelerated and before long it sounded like he was trying to _swallow_ all the air in the room.

The fox spoke softly.  
"Hey, _easy buddy_."  
Light convulsions started to rock the weasel. Small forward bobs of the head, twitching shoulders.  
Good arm outstretched, Nick closed the gap carefully.  
Sturgis's feet started to slide across the tile, then his knees buckled.  
Nick ducked and caught the weasel. Arm wrapped around the weasel's back, he settled them both down and gave him a firm squeeze. The fox kept his paw _away_ from the package behind the weasel's back.  
"It's alright. It's _alright_."

The shaking grew violent. The forward spasm hitting harder, faster. The weasel breathed so hard, and so fast, it started to sound like the snot in his nose was crackling.

Nick hooked his head over Blake's shoulder.

" _Hey,_ It's okay. I'm not taking anything. Not gonna tell anybody."

Nick caressed his back.

"Easy, Phillip,"

 _Use the middle name._

Sturgis spasmed again, lurching forwards.

" _Easy_ , everything's going to be cool."

Another lurch, this time with a sound. The throaty noise puzzled him at first.

"You alright buddy?"

The answer came quick. The weasel heaved again, his body convulsed. Nick felt a splash down his back. With a deep inward sigh, the fox gave the weasel another gentle squeeze. He pretended he couldn't smell it.

" _Easy_ , that's _alright_."

He massaged Blake's back, even as the weasel wretched again. He could hear it splatter against the floor. Then, like that, it was as if someone had cut the jumper cables. The weasel went slack in his arms. Muscles turned soft like dough, and the weasel went silent.

Keeping him upright, he let the weasel catch his breath/

The fox chuckled… more genuinely, this time.

" _Well._ I guess I should've settled for the mustard on my face, huh?"

The sound of the weasel's snotty nose simply grew quieter. The rise and fall of his belly slowed, gradually. Nick exhaled and scratched down the back of the weasel's neck.

"I'm not going to snitch, I promise… I ain't no See & Tell Johnny you know… That's... All I wanted to show you. You know?… It's your stuff. It belongs to you. You worked hard to get it, I know you did. I'm... so sorry for trying to make a show of it…"

He abstained from saying anything more, though he had plenty more nasty things about _himself_ to say.

"Here _C'mon_."

Standing, Nick grunted and helped hoist Blake to his feet. The weasel didn't seem to want to stay that way. He wobbled on spaghetti legs, so the fox had to hold him up until he could sit him down on the couch nearby.

The rather sizable zip-lock bag, still laid up against the wall.

 _Well you wanted to see it? There it is! You idiot..._

Nick tried to swallow his sense of shame like a pill, but it stuck there between the fold of his esophagus.

And so, befitting his punishment, he spent the next half hour stripped down to his boxers and undershirt, scrubbing vomit off the floor. It wouldn't make for what he'd done. Neither would an apology. It was a serious breach of respect... perhaps even evidence that he _didn't_ understand his old world - and his old friends - near as much as he thought he did…

 _Is this what my job's doing to me?... Am I so egotistical that I'd really do this to a friend?… guess what better job for a bully than to be a dirty co-... a dirty-..._

No. That thought wasn't worth finishing. Even if there was no-one else, he knew _one_ bunny that could exemplify why that train of thought was _wrong_. If she could do it right, so could he. He took a deep breath, carried the last rag back to the sink, squeezed it and ran it under the facet.

 _You can't blame your job, for your problems… He's scared of you because you're a cop, but it was_ _your_ _attitude problem that caused this… Your control issue has_ _always_ _been there, and you_ _need_ _to fix it... If anything you've done your badge a dis-service_ _alongside_ _your 'thieves honor'._

Once it was sufficiently rinsed, he rung out the water out and carried the rag back to the kitchen table, where he sat and started grooming himself.

Bile had bled through his shirt, and now his back was wet with it. He scrubbed his fur and he scrubbed the black wife beater over the top of it. A wet rag probably wasn't going to strip the smell out of the garment, but he had to wear _something_ home.

It would probably be fine after a _proper_ wash, and his crappiest, twelve buck pair of chafing khakis was worth burning anyway... but now he was down a hundred dollar shirt.

 _You're going clothes shopping after all smarty…_

Satisfied he went back and tossed the rag back in the sink. After filling a glass with cool water, he turned the knob to the hot end and waited.

 _...What a help I'm turning out to be… First chance to prove I'm helpful, and I traumatize a witness..._

He wasn't expecting any cooperation, after _that_. To even ask at this point would be to shred and burn any sense of respect he had left. No, the most he could do at this point was make the weasel feel safe in his house.

 _Maybe I can stop by Ping's. Gotta be able to dig something up about Jack. Even if Steve doesn't know, there's always mammals skulking around those parts at night. Odds are I'll know somebody who's seen something… I've got to get something for her..._

The water rushing over his finger grew warm. He picked up the rag, squeezed it and let the warmth soak in. After ringing it out, Nick cut the facet and carried the rag back to the couch. Sitting down next to Sturgis, he was annoyed to find the little mammal had already fallen asleep.. He sighed. Then he sat the glass of water on the side table.

" _Sleep my little robin-jay…" that's what she used to say..._

He hesitated at first. Then he kicked himself.

 _Not the first time you've filled the daddy role… at this rate it's not gonna be the last, either. Just suck it up and do what you're supposed to._

He gently pressed the rag against the weasel's lips and cleaned away the froth. A part of him really hoped the weasel would stay slumped over, but of course Blake proved to be as light a sleeper as ever. The eyes opened and Nick got a hazy stare. He just kept cleaning beneath the animal's chin.

"Here."

He dropped the rag and handed over the glass of water. The weasel stared at it for a minute, but ultimately clasped it in his paws.

The fox stood and carried the dish cloth back to the sink and ran it under the facet. Right as the water started to hiss, the weasel mumbled something. Nick cut it off.

"What?"

Blake didn't answer.

He softened his tone.

"What do you need buddy?"

"When are you headed home, Nick?"

The weasel wasn't looking; so he didn't bother stifling a frown or a quiet sigh.

"I'll uhm… I'll go soon. You need anything first? I cleaned up. You want me to put your stuff ba-"

"Nick you gotta go home 'fore it gets dark."

An open maw, but the fox feared speaking.

 _Don't argue, he wants you to leave…_

He started to mull over the 'before it gets dark.'

"Wait w-what time is it now?... How long'd I sleep?"

"Just half an hour. Want me to open the blinds?"

"No! p-please don't..."

The fox's ears flattened to his skull. That definitely wasn't right.

"...Just, what time is it, dude?"

"Two twenty. You okay buddy?"

The weasel was silent.

The fox felt frozen where he was. Hesitantly he took a step towards his friend.

"You're not gonna tell anyone right?"

He mustered a small chuckle.

"Look buddy, if you don't believe me _,_ you can roll it up and I'll smoke it."

He prepared a big smirk, for the weasel, but the mustelid never turned around.

"Hey, so-"

"Okay," said the weasel.

"'Okay'?"

"Bring me the bag."

Nick's eyes widened.

 _Ohh, I get it. I'm an idiot..._ _That's_ _what that is._

He eyed the zip-lock.

"Nick I-I need to tell you some stuff."

The fox nodded, half paying attention.

" _Uh… huh_."

 _...tell him I was kidding… it wouldn't actually be proof of anything. It'd just be stupid..._

"I-I'm just _really_ scared. L-like… I just wanna feel safe again."

Nick glanced back at the weasel. He still wasn't looking. Nick rolled his eyes and snorted quietly.

 _...it worth having a carrot chunk bitten out my arm?_

He looked at the jittery weasel, and he thought about those long incisors. Then he took a deep breath, crept over, and plucked the bag off the floor like he was going through Christmas presents early. The fox brought it to the couch, where weasel had curled up, and sat down. The bag went between them.

He stared at the wall. They both did. It was the kind of pause you'd get when you'd find your guy-friend's lost dildo beneath the car seat, and there's just _not_ a right thing to say… oh you could try a very witty jab and try to have fun with it. But with that _particular_ company, it'd gone about as well as cleaning up weasel guts.

Sufficid to say it was awkward, or at least he thought so. It was hard to say at this point what exactly was going through the weasel's head. It was possible he could've just been that tired.

Blake finally picked up the ziplock.

"You sure it's okay to?"

"Uh… _yeah_ you can... if you need to. I was mostly joking."

"Mostly?"

" _Uhm."_

The fox stuttered, tapping fingers against the couch.

"Yeah. Will it _really_ make you feel better? I just _figured_ , you know, it's expensive stuff… I've been part of a bust before- on the _receiving_ end of a bust, before. Remember I told you I used to help sell the stuff when I was in junior high? I know what it costs, so-"

The weasel leaned against him.

"Bro... it'll make me feel better..."

The fox felt _something_ of his close up tight. He put on a straight face, regardless. He was making a big deal of nothing, anyway...

The weasel shoved his good arm.

"It'll make you feel better, ita make everybodeh feel betta!"

Nick chuckled. He put an arm around the stupid mustelid and brought him in for a hug.

"Letsa not geta too clingy just yet."

"Yeah, that's not a Jamaican accent, squeaker, that's Lynxtalian."

" _III know that._ "

" _III_ don't think I believe you."

The weasel elbowed the fox in the ribs causing him to flinch. He smiled and grabbed the weasel's arm.

" _Alright_ , alright. You've beat me up enough today."

"Ha! Some snag you are. Nicky still can't take a few bruises."

 _Yeah, those bullet wound bruises..._

It was still god awful sore, but the pain was getting drunk off the oxy.

"... _Mm_ , see that's exactly what I'm saying. It's confounding how they find any use for me outside of talking. Can't imagine why they haven't put me behind the front desk. I'm so darn charming, after all."

"That's the funniest thing Nicky's said all day."

"Of course, I'm only joking. I'm actually a very revered and _prestigious_ junior detective."

Blake chuckled.

"Junior, detective?"

"I'll have you know I work harder than anyone else on the force.."

"Heh, I'll believe it when when I can fit my fingers around Chatman Paul's thighs."

He flicked Blake on the side of his head.

"Well I'm afraid I left my sticker at home, now roll your drugs, druggie."

The weasel growled. Nick gave him a retaliatory grin.

And so the weasel plucked one of the wraps out of the bag and started doing his business. Somewhere between Blake hunching over the coffee table and lighting paper, Nick's ear flicked. The weasel started muttering something to himself, again.

Nick gave him a casual ' _hmm?_ ', but he didn't get a response.

"Blake."

"Huh? O-oh, hold on."

The weasel finished preparing his cigarette and repositioned himself. He placed his back against the fox's side and brought it to his lips. One _long_ drag. Nick watched. The weasel kept sucking. The fox's eyes got a little wider. He just kept going.

 _Cough incoming in three, two, one…_

But the weasel blew the heavy smoke out smooth. Nick muttered to himself even as the oder hit his nose like a fertilizer truck.

"...no way…"

"Alright," said the weasel in a scratchy voice, "I think I'm better."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Nick turned his nose up a little, but that's when the weasel handed it over.

"Sorry, here," he said.

"I mean, you're fine… uhm..."

Hesitantly the fox brought the tight wrap up to his muzzle. The weasel leaned against him and closed his eyes. Nick sighed.

 _You really are making a big deal out of nothing._

"H'oh well."

His eyes flicked down and he put his lips to the paper. Comically, he remembered imitating just such motion at the lunch table yesterday... That was how you were supposed to do it right? He took a short drag.

The next second he was coughing hard into the crook of his arm.

He expected the runt to make fun, to which he'd reply "I've never smoked tabacco either." But no jab came.

"Nick. Jack… he told me. T-that something's coming after us..."


End file.
